Transgenders in Shillong raring to vote with their new ID

SHILLONG: For Nelly Ryntathiang (26) voting on Tuesday will be altogether a different experience. It will be the first time Nelly will be voting here with a transgender identity in her voter’s card. This has become possible after the Meghalaya cabinet last month approved the amendment in the Meghalaya Registration of Birth and Death Rules, 1999, allowing registration of third gender along with male and female.
“I am raring to vote with my new ID where my identity as transgender is mentioned. I am feeling really proud. In past elections I voted as male, though my identity is not that. This election I will vote with my own identity,” said Nelly.

There are some 200 transgenders in the state capital. Majority of them however, still possessed the old voter’s cards where their gender is mentioned as male even after after the Rules were amended.

Founder chairman of Shamakami, an organization that works for LGBT, Rebina Subba said transgender did not have enough time to go through the process of changing their voter cards as election was already announced.

“The duration between the amendment and announcement of election was very short. We are told that after the election, the process will start. So in next election they will be able to vote as transgender mentioned in their voter cards,” Rebina explained.

Nelly said only five of them could have their new voter cards.


Donna Marwein (27), another transgender voter, will vote for the first time on Tuesday. “But I am confused because my voter’s card mentions my gender as male but I dress up as female. Will I be comfortable if I join either of the male or female queue. I am also a bit sad because I couldn’t get my voter’s card changed this time,” Donna said

Chief electoral officer F. R. Kharkongor said that changing of voter’s card for transgender couldn’t happen because electoral rolls were published before the amendment.

“They can vote with their old voter’s card. Though we haven’t made any separate arrangement for them, our officials in polling booths will assist them in case they face any problem. In future elections we are definitely going to make a separate arrangement,” Kharkongor said. End