While passing through France this summer, I heard that London will have its own French Member of Parliament. This bit of information was more than a little surprising to me.
Of course, there are many countries that allow their citizens living abroad to vote. But now things are seemingly being stepped up a notch: Expats will not only be able to vote, but they will also have their ‘own’ voice in parliament, with their place of residence itself becoming a constituency.
So, it turns out that London could be construed as the sixth largest French city in terms of population. There are apparently 3,00,000 to 4,00,000 French citizens living in London, of which about 1,20,000 are registered with the consulate enabling them to vote — which they actually did last Sunday.
But after a little research, I found that it is not London
However, that would still be child’s play compared to the task facing those who wish to win the Asia (including Russia), Oceania or the Central and South American constituencies. There will actually be 11 MPs in all, representing the French living in different parts of the world based on the registered French population in these countries. The easier constituencies, in that sense, would be Benelux, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Gaining ground
But it is not the French who started this all. Italy passed a law in 2001, creating four constituencies for its people living abroad that would allow them to elect members to both houses of its Parliament. There are a few others, too, who allow this: Portugal and Tunisia, for instance.
And needless to say, there are growing noises coming now from other parts of the world. Some are mere whispers, while others are turning into gentle rumbles. This clamour has typically been associated with the right-wing parties since most expats tend to favour them. Also, it is only when you are abroad that you rediscover your glorious past heritage and glow with patriotic fervour.
Thus, in Italy, it was Silvio Berlusconi’s idea to push for voting by expats and even creating constituencies for them.
In France, it was pushed through literally in the last days of Nicolas Sarkozy’s term. Not for nothing, it was viewed by many as a last ditch effort to garner additional votes. Either way, both men have lost their jobs now.
In India, too, the Right will possibly favour such a step. I can easily see Narendra Modi getting a lot of votes. But I can equally also see parts of the world where the Shiromani Akali Dal or the Telugu Desam Party would do well.
At the same time, the Indian diaspora being more heterogeneous than the countries mentioned above — Philadelphia alone has a dozen or so churches for Kerala Christians serving different denominations — it may not be so easy to predict the outcome. The other thing is that given all the hassles with immigration and travel, most Indians give up their visas within a few years of living abroad.
Practical problems
In any case, I find the idea rife with practical difficulties. Imagine electing an MP for New Jersey, which, to some, is a vast suburb of New York City and to others the Garden State. To Indians, it is just a mini-India.
What will such an MP from this constituency, if it ever becomes one, accomplish, besides raking up a lot of frequent flyer miles? And who will pay for those frequent flyer miles? Most members of the constituency will already be paying their taxes to Uncle Sam.
Surely, it’s hard to justify undertaking such things using the Indian taxpayers’ money. It is possible that the expat MP could push the issue of dual citizenship further, do possibly something about Indian culture for their constituents deprived in this regard, raise funds for India, and also attract foreign direct investment.
But I suspect most of the individuals who are in a position to contribute to this will already be American citizens. Of course, it will give a warm glow feeling to the expats, who will feel that their voice will now be heard, though I am not sure how to value that.
Whether this is a folly or a favour only time will tell. At the moment it remains an interesting notion that will gain popularity in a globalised world, where mobility keeps increasing and immigrant diasporas continue to grow.
Who knows whether in times to come winning in Louisiana and Belgium would matter as much as in Ludhiana and Belgaum in deciding a Vote of Confidence in the Lok Sabha?
(The writer is Professor of Economics, specialising in industrial organisation and applied game theory, at Louisiana State University)