In a significant step to facilitate the participation of expatriate Bangladeshis in the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election and referendums, the Election Commission (EC) has commenced the distribution of postal ballots to registered overseas voters through the mobile application ‘Postal Vote BD’. On Friday, 19 December, and Saturday, 20 December, a total of 41,543 postal ballots were dispatched across ten countries.
Salim Ahmad Khan, Team Leader of the Expatriate Voter Registration and Out-of-Country Voting Project, explained that ballot distribution was carried out in three countries on Friday and seven countries on Saturday. He elaborated that registered voters can log into the EC’s ‘Postal Vote BD’ app to access the list of candidates in their respective constituencies. Following the provided guidelines, voters can mark their chosen candidate on the ballot paper using either a tick or a cross.
Mr Khan further clarified that votes cast before the official allocation of candidate symbols will not be invalidated. However, in accordance with legal regulations, voters will ultimately select candidates after symbols have been assigned.
According to EC data, on Friday postal ballots were sent to expatriates in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia, with 892 ballots distributed in Australia, 573 in the UK, and 6,246 in Malaysia. On Saturday evening, seven additional countries received ballots, including the United States with 8,480, China with 681, Kuwait with 1,310, Qatar with 2,737, Saudi Arabia with 7,343, Japan with 5,600, and South Korea with 7,681 ballots.
Meanwhile, as of 7:30 pm on Saturday, a total of 540,610 voters had registered through the ‘Postal Vote BD’ app for the 13th parliamentary elections and referendums. Registration is not limited to expatriate Bangladeshis; government officials and employees serving in election duties are also registering via the app to cast their votes from outside their official constituencies.
The Election Commission has emphasised that this postal voting system ensures a safe and efficient way for overseas Bangladeshis to exercise their democratic rights. By facilitating remote participation, the initiative aims to strengthen the engagement of the expatriate community in Bangladesh’s electoral process, reflecting the country’s commitment to inclusive and participatory democracy.