EC to print 1m ballots for expatriate voters in national election
“The number of ballots may be increased depending on demand,” Sanaullah said.
The Election Commission (EC) will initially print one million postal ballots to facilitate voting by Bangladeshi expatriates in the upcoming national election.
Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Muhammad Sanaullah announced this today (6 October) while speaking at a dialogue with journalists at the EC headquarters in Dhaka.
"The number of ballots may be increased depending on demand," Sanaullah said.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
"Each postal ballot in Bangladesh costs around Tk700, but expatriates will not be required to pay any fees," he added.
For the first time, expatriates will be able to vote using IT-enabled postal ballots. To participate, voters must first register through the EC's dedicated app, 'Postal Vote BD'.
Once registered, the commission will send the ballots by post to the voters.
"We have high expectations. We anticipate a significant turnout, although the exact figure is uncertain. For now, we'll print one million ballot papers and proceed based on the number of registrations," Sanaullah further said.
Unlike domestic voters, expatriates will be able to cast their votes immediately after candidate finalisation. After marking their ballots, they must seal them in envelopes and return them to the commission by post.
