Expatriates to be included in voting system, multiple methods needed: EC Sanaullah

Bangladeshi expatriates, regardless of their numbers, will be brought under the voting system in the upcoming national elections, while multiple methods will be needed to ensure their voting rights, Election Commissioner (EC) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah said today (9 April).

At a press conference at the media centre of the Election Commission building in Agargaon, he also said an advisory team comprising experts will be formed by today to work on it.

He said that the chief adviser in his inaugural speech mentioned granting voting rights to expatriates.

"The Election Commission shares this expectation," he added.

The commission conducted a study across 178 countries and found that 115 of them have provisions allowing their expatriate citizens to vote.

"The most widely used method is voting at embassies, followed by postal ballots, and then online or proxy voting. We have shortlisted all three methods. Each has its advantages and limitations," Sanaullah said.

The election commissioner also mentioned that after the issue was raised with the commission, a workshop was held yesterday (8 April) with experts on elections, law, technology, and election management.

The advantages and disadvantages of each method were reviewed there.

"Whichever method we adopt, expatriates will first need to register online. Bangladesh will not be able to rely on a single method; rather, a mixed approach will be needed because the situation varies from country to country," he added.

The election commissioner said their next step would be to form an advisory team.

"After that, we will sit with stakeholders," said Md Sanaullah.

He added, "If we want to include all voters, proxy voting would be the only option. Around 25 countries in the world use proxy voting, mainly for disabled individuals, hospital patients, pregnant women, students, members of the armed forces, or diplomats.

"However, some countries offer proxy voting for everyone. For instance, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the UK have kept it open to all citizens."

He, however, said that many have pointed out the weaknesses of proxy voting, as well as its successes. The same applies to the other options too.

"We are not singling out any particular option," he added.

In response to a question, he said, "We will first implement this [expatriate vote] for the national elections before considering it for local elections. We will not introduce any system that causes hurdles for expatriates, especially when they currently cannot vote at all."

He also mentioned that it is too early to say how long the entire process will take, as the system is still under development.

"The Reform Commission has recommended postal and online voting methods. They suggested an eight-stage process up to the trial phase. However, no timeline has been set for how long the trial will take. Only technical experts will be able to determine that," he added.