Domestic postal ballot change likely; EC to meet parties

The Election Commission (EC) is set to change the design of postal ballots used inside the country and will hold discussions with all political parties over the move.

Under the plan, domestic postal ballots will be redesigned to resemble regular ballot papers, carrying only the name and symbol of the final candidate in the relevant constituency, while postal ballots sent to expatriate voters will remain unchanged and continue to include symbols of all parties, EC sources said.

Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud told The Business Standard that the redesign would apply only to postal ballots used inside the country.

"The domestic postal ballot will look like a regular ballot paper, with only the final candidate of the relevant constituency and their symbol printed on it," he said.

Earlier, BNP delegations visited the EC last Thursday and again today (19 January), raising concerns over the complexity of the existing postal ballot design. The party proposed making postal ballots simpler, with only the names and symbols of contesting candidates.

After meeting the chief election commissioner on today, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told reporters that the current postal ballot was flawed and biased.

"This ballot paper appears to favour a particular party. We have urged the Election Commission to change it," he said.

Meanwhile, Chhatra Dal suspended its programme of encircling the EC building, staged over three demands, after two consecutive days of protests.

The BNP's student wing announced the suspension of the programme around 6pm today, citing assurances from the EC.

Chhatra Dal President Rakibul Islam Rakib said the EC had informed them that changes would be made to postal ballots used inside the country.

Meantime, the EC has invited all political parties to a briefing on the voting process through the "Postal Vote BD" app for the upcoming referendum and the 13th national parliamentary election, scheduled for tomorrow.

According to a letter signed by Md Ruhul Amin Mallik, director of Public Relations at the EC Secretariat, the briefing be held at the EC Secretariat auditorium from 4pm to 5:30pm.

The letter said the referendum and the 13th parliamentary election will be held on 12 February 2026. It added that scrutiny of nomination papers and appeal hearings have already been completed, symbol allocation will take place on 21 January, and election campaigns will begin on 22 January.

The EC has asked each registered political party to send two technically skilled representatives to the briefing, while independent candidates may attend in person or nominate a technically competent representative.

The letter also said registered voters, both at home and abroad, will be able to start voting through the Postal Vote BD app after symbol allocation.

According to EC data, a total of 1,533,682 voters have registered to cast postal votes in the referendum and parliamentary election. Of them, 772,542 applications were submitted from abroad and 761,140 from within the country.