Expat Postal Voting Registrations Exceed 92,000 Ahead of 13th National Polls
The Election Commission (EC) is conducting an online registration drive to ensure voting rights for expatriates in the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election. So far, more than 92,000 Bangladeshis living abroad have registered to vote through the ‘Postal Vote BD’ mobile application.
The information was available on 30 November, Sunday, at 11:00 am on the EC’s website (https://portal.ocv.gov.bd/report/by-country).
Earlier, the EC announced that postal ballots would be mailed to the addresses of registered expatriate voters. After casting their votes, voters must return the ballots to the designated Returning Officer using the return envelope provided.
An EC official said the previous form of postal ballots had become ineffective, prompting the commission to adopt an IT-supported postal voting mechanism, which has already been implemented. “We are receiving a good response from abroad. Once the registration period opens for persons in legal custody and polling officials, we will know their level of interest,” the official added.
The online registration for expatriates began on 19 November and will continue until 18 December. Individuals in legal custody and polling officials may register between 19 and 23 December.
Countries where the registration process is currently active include South Korea, Japan, South Africa, China, Egypt, Mozambique, Libya, Mauritius, Hong Kong, Brazil, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Liberia, Botswana, Kenya, Rwanda, Algeria, Angola, Tanzania, Somalia, Ghana, Guinea, Morocco, South Sudan, Chile, Sierra Leone, Ecuador, Taiwan, Argentina, Australia, the Central African Republic, The Gambia, Peru, Zimbabwe, the United States, Saudi Arabia, among others. As of 11:30 am, a total of 92,771 expatriates have registered from these countries.
The EC is preparing to hold the 13th National Parliamentary Election in the first half of February. As part of the preparations, it plans to print one million postal ballots for expatriates, targeting participation from five million overseas voters.
DBTech/DM/EK/OR
