Nearly 3,650 Inmates Cast Postal Ballots in IT-Supported Election

Ahead of the 13th National Parliament election, a total of 5,960 inmates had registered to vote via postal ballots with IT support and app-based tracking facilities. Among them, 3,647 inmates have cast their votes over the past three days. This information was shared in a brief statement by the Department of Prisons on the morning of Friday, February 6.

According to the Department of Prisons, 1,521 inmates voted on February 3, followed by 988 inmates on February 4, and 1,138 inmates on February 5. The voting process was conducted peacefully inside the prisons, adhering to all electoral regulations, with no untoward incidents reported. Inmates exercised their right to vote for candidates of their respective constituencies.

The department noted that the largest number of eligible inmate voters are housed in Dhaka Central Jail (Keraniganj), where over 600 inmates are registered to vote. Reports had previously indicated that 22 political figures, including former ministers and party leaders, cast their postal ballots from the Keraniganj special central jail. Among them were Rashed Khan Menon, President of Bangladesh Workers Party and former minister, and Hasanul Haq Inu, President of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) and former information minister, along with former police officials, ex-secretaries, and other political figures. Two polling booths were arranged in the special jail for postal ballot voting.

Following the Election Commission’s prior announcement, the Department of Prisons began the postal ballot process on February 3. The voting process at Keraniganj Central Jail was inspected in person by Inspector General of Prisons, Brigadier General Syed M. Motaher Hossain.

Brigadier General Motaher Hossain stated that all 5,960 inmate voters across the country’s prisons began exercising their right to vote through postal ballots. Postal ballot papers had been delivered to the respective prisons by mail in advance. While the original schedule set the voting period until February 5, a government holiday on February 4 led the Election Commission to extend the postal ballot process by one day, until February 6.

DBTech/BMN/IK/OR