ABU DHABI // The next general election in India could be decided by Indian expatriates in the Middle East, says an Abu Dhabi doctor whose petition to India’s highest court has paved the way for more than 10 million of them to vote overseas.
Excitement is building among non-resident Indians (NRIs) because they will finally get to vote in elections in their home state and country.
“Without the vote, you are just an object. But now everybody, even us who live overseas, will have a voice and this will become an influence or a pressure group once this new category of voters is added,” said Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, managing director of VPS Healthcare.
Dr Vayalil, who has lived in the UAE for 12 years and runs nine hospitals in the Emirates, filed a public-interest litigation last April. He was seeking enforcement of an Indian citizen’s fundamental right to vote and allowing NRIs to cast their vote abroad.
“The next election will be decided in the Middle East. Even with 1,000 to 2,000 votes people win or lose elections, so with state elections our numbers will make a difference,” he said.
India’s supreme court on Monday directed the federal government to enable voting for NRIs within eight weeks.
There are more than 10 million NRIs, according to Indian government figures, with 1.75 million of them living in the UAE.
Of the 2.36 million Indians from Kerala state who live overseas, 910,000 reside in the UAE and 590,000 in Saudi Arabia, according to Kerala government figures.
Voting by electronic ballot was recommended in an election commission report submitted to the court following Dr Vayalil’s petition.
A ballot can be downloaded by a voter living overseas by means of a personal password. The ballot should be filled in and posted to the constituency in India.
The election commission decided against NRIs casting their votes at diplomatic missions – which the citizens of 50 other countries usually do – because of the sheer numbers of Indians living overseas and the logistical problems the embassies would encounter.
However, there was work still to be done, said Dr Vayalil, who travelled to New Delhi to attend all eight hearings of the case.
“There will need to be amendments in the law and work needs to be done on implementation and methodology,” he said.
“But now that it has been accepted in letter and spirit, we can be sure that further steps will be taken.”
For years non-resident groups had urged successive Indian governments to permit them to vote.
NRIs were granted this right following a government notification in 2010, but they had to return to their constituency in India to do so.
This federal decision was often described as ineffective and impractical since few NRIs, businessmen aside, could afford to travel home for just a few days.
Voting rights will ensure that the voices of poor Indian workers will be heard at the next general election in 2019.
Dr Vayalil said low-income NRIs would benefit from getting to vote abroad. “They live here for 25 to 30 years with no one to look after them when they go back. They have no healthcare, benefits or pension. There is no earnest hearing of their problems for which they require long-term solutions. They are the ones who need help,” he said.
Indian expatriates in the UAE said they never dreamt of being able to vote while living overseas.
“We will have a voice; politicians and political parties will hear what we have to say,” said Amjad Nyari, a welder in Dubai.
“We can’t go home for three to four years because we don’t have money. When a worker dies, it is expensive to send his body home – all this we will talk about.”
Shazia Kidwai, a financial consultant in Sharjah, said the decision was brilliant.
“We may be NRIs but we are absolutely in touch with everything in India,” he said. “We know we will go back to India in the end, so it’s important for us to see which political party is taking action. This will be one of the most important rights we will exercise as Indian citizens.”
rtalwar@thenational.ae
World Cup warm up matches
May 24 Pakistan v Afghanistan, Bristol; Sri Lanka v South Africa, Cardiff
May 25 England v Australia, Southampton; India v New Zealand, The Oval
May 26 South Africa v West Indies, Bristol; Pakistan v Bangladesh, Cardiff
May 27 Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton; England v Afghanistan, The Oval
May 28 West Indies v New Zealand, Bristol; Bangladesh v India, Cardiff
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications
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Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
The%20specs
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Scoreline
Germany 2
Werner 9', Sane 19'
Netherlands 2
Promes 85', Van Dijk 90'
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
NEW%20UTILITY%20POLICY%3A%20WHAT%20DOES%20IT%20REGULATE%3F
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