4,500 postal ballots returned as addresses not found: EC Sanaullah

Election Commissioner Brigadier General (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah has said that around 4,500 postal ballots sent to expatriate voters were returned because the addresses could not be located, leaving no scope for further action.

"Most of the returned ballots came from Malaysia, followed by Italy," he said at a briefing at the Election Commission building in Agargaon yesterday (15 January).

Providing an update on the postal voting process for the upcoming national election, Sanaullah stated that a total of 767,084 ballots have been dispatched so far. Of these, 707,500 have already reached their destination countries, while 59,584 are currently in transit. He added that 140,873 ballots have reached expatriate voters.

"We are counting only those ballots where voters have scanned the QR code after receiving them," the election commissioner said.

According to Election Commission sources, registration for expatriate voters began on 19 November through the newly introduced "Postal Vote BD" app, which is being used for the first time. After the election schedule was announced, registration was also opened for voters inside the country. Among the voters registered on the app, 772,542 applications came from expatriates and 761,140 from within Bangladesh.

Sanaullah also highlighted concerns over the use of shared addresses by voters. He said 171,680 voters used the same address shared by two people, while 95,816 voters shared addresses with up to five people. Around 59,276 voters used addresses shared by 10 people, 38,109 by 20 people, and 21,915 by between 20 and 50 people. Additionally, 14,891 voters were registered at addresses shared by 50 to 100 people or even more.

Explaining the situation, he said many expatriate workers live in cramped accommodations and do not have individual addresses. "In many cases, they used post boxes, nearby shops or other facilities where mail can be delivered," he said.

Issuing a warning against any irregularities in postal voting, the election commissioner said there would be no leniency. "We have clearly instructed everyone that electoral integrity must not be compromised under any circumstances," he said.

He added that Bangladesh's international image and labour market were closely linked to the credibility of the election process. "If any untoward incident occurs, it could have an adverse impact on the labour market," he warned.

"There will be no concessions. From blocking NIDs to filing criminal charges, strict action will be taken. If necessary, arrangements will be made to repatriate offenders to Bangladesh. No one should think that the Election Commission is asleep and that anything can be done with postal ballots," Sanaullah said.