Postal Votes to Be Invalidated If the Declaration Form Lacks Signature

For the first time in the upcoming national parliamentary election, Bangladeshi voters residing abroad will be allowed to cast their votes through an IT-supported postal ballot system. In this process, submitting a properly signed declaration form along with the ballot has been made mandatory. If the declaration form lacks a signature, the returning officer will invalidate the postal ballot.

In a circular on postal voting issued on Wednesday, 19 November, the Election Commission (EC) stated that upon receiving the envelopes for counting, the returning officer must first verify whether the declaration form is duly signed. If it is not properly signed, the officer will mark the declaration form as rejected and treat the ballot as invalid without opening the ballot-paper envelope. Both documents will then be preserved together.

The circular further stated that Bangladeshi voters living abroad can apply online for voter registration through a mobile app named “Postal Vote BD.” Once the voter information submitted by the applicant residing overseas is verified, the Bangladesh Postal Department will send the postal ballot to the voter’s foreign address. After the allocation of electoral symbols, voters can view the candidate list of the respective constituency through the app and then cast their vote on the received postal ballot.

After voting, the completed ballot must be sent back to the respective returning officer using the return envelope via postal mail. Voters registered for postal voting will also be able to track the dispatch progress of their ballot papers through the app. The EC has also announced the registration deadline for voting via postal ballots.

DBTech/IK/OR