Saudi Arabia Surpasses the US in Overseas Voter Registration
Saudi Arabia has overtaken the United States in overseas voter registration for participation in the 13th National Parliamentary Election and the national referendum. As of 2:45 pm on Saturday, 6 December, a total of 38,374 expatriate Bangladeshis had registered from Saudi Arabia through the Postal Vote BD app.
The United States ranked second with 19,227 registrations, while Singapore secured third place with 11,000 registrants. Malaysia followed in fourth place with over 10,500 registrations, and the United Kingdom ranked fifth with 10,290 registered expatriate voters.
By that time, 194,527 Bangladeshis had registered as voters through the portal—175,573 men and 18,968 women. Based on the pace of registrations, officials estimated that the number would reach 200,000 within the day.
The Election Commission (EC) has urged expatriates to provide accurate addresses during registration. An EC notification stated:
“While registering in the Postal Vote BD app, please provide the correct address according to the rules of the country where you reside. If necessary, use your workplace or a known contact’s address.”
The notice further instructed that registrants who have entered incorrect addresses should correct them by 6 December using the Edit menu in the mobile app. Without complete and accurate addresses, postal ballot papers cannot be delivered.
These updates were confirmed today by Salim Ahmed Khan, Team Leader of the Out-of-Country Voting System and Implementation (OCV-SDI) project. As per country-wise registration data, 38,269 voters registered from Saudi Arabia and 19,271 from the United States.
The EC has extended the overseas voter registration period through the Postal Vote BD app until 25 December. Initially, registration was open worldwide until 11:59 pm on 18 December.
Senior Secretary of the EC Secretariat, Akhtar Ahmed, said:
“The registration window for Out-of-Country Voting has been extended to midnight of 25 December. Anyone from anywhere in the world may download the app and complete registration.”
He further informed that In-Country Postal Voting (ICPv) will also be introduced for government officials engaged in election duties, voters under legal custody, and government employees staying outside their constituencies.
According to him, the ICPv registration process will remain open for 15 days following the announcement of the election schedule.
The Chief Election Commissioner launched the Postal Vote BD app on 18 November, announcing voter registration schedules for 148 designated countries for the upcoming 13th parliamentary election.
For postal ballot voting abroad, expatriate voters must use the mobile number of the country from which they intend to cast their vote.
To register, users must download and install the Postal Vote BD app from Google Play Store or the App Store. Providing an accurate address is essential to ensure delivery of the ballot papers.
DBTech/BEC/EK/OR
