Postal Ballots for Domestic Voters Begin Distribution

The Election Commission (EC) has started sending postal ballots on Monday, January 26, to registered voters within the country who will participate in the upcoming postal voting.

During a briefing at the EC Secretariat in Agargaon, Dhaka, EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed informed reporters that ballots are being dispatched today to those registered for in-country postal voting. Eligible voters include election officials, law enforcement personnel, and individuals in legal custody. Once received, ballots must be promptly completed and returned.

According to the EC, the ballots will display both the candidate’s name and symbol. Ballots must reach the returning officer by 4:30 PM on election day to be counted; any delayed submissions will be disqualified.

Regarding expatriate postal ballots, the EC clarified that ballots sent by voters who personally post them from within Bangladesh will not be counted unless tracked via geolocation. Ballots are processed through designated mail centers at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and Tejgaon before reaching their respective constituencies.

Since the app’s launch on November 18, voters outside their constituencies, including expatriates from 148 countries, have been able to register using their local mobile numbers. Within Bangladesh, 761,140 voters have registered under the in-country postal voting category. Comilla leads in district-based registration with 112,090 voters, followed by Dhaka (108,755) and Chattogram (95,297). Fenī-3 tops the constituency-wise registration with 16,093 voters, followed by Chattogram-15 with 14,301 voters.

Returning officers have set up designated ballot boxes to receive postal ballots from expatriates and in-country voters. Each constituency has one box for every 400 ballots. Postal ballots arriving by February 12 will be scanned, registered, and digitally recorded in laptops, while the envelopes will be securely stored. Votes reaching the returning officer’s office by 4:30 PM on election day will be included in the count.

Additional Regional Election Officer AHM Kamrul Hasan stated that incoming ballots from the postal department will be scanned, verified, and entered into the register, with representatives present to oversee the process before counting. Returning officers can access the postal voting software to monitor the number of registered voters and votes cast in each constituency.

DBTech/SME/MUM/OR