Over 4 lakh expatriates sign up for postal vote

More than four lakh expatriate Bangladeshis have registered their names to take part in the country's first-ever postal voting initiative, marking a milestone in efforts to enfranchise citizens living abroad.

The Election Commission (EC) today (15 December) reported that a total of 409,542 overseas Bangladeshis have successfully completed registration through the "Postal Vote BD" app as of 12:45 pm today. 

This digital gateway enables them to cast ballots in the upcoming 13th Jatiya Sangsad election as well as the referendum.Of the registered voters, 383,418 are men while 26,124 are women, according to the EC's updated figures.

Government employees who are engaged in election duties and citizens staying outside their own constituency are also registering through the "Postal Vote BD" app. As of 12:45pm today, 29,044 Bangladeshi voters of this category residing within the country have completed their registration.

Officials described the enrollment as a significant step in broadening democratic participation, noting that the postal ballot system is designed to ensure inclusivity for millions of Bangladeshis residing abroad.

On the country basis highest 107,783 expatriates have registered their names from Saudi Arabia followed by Qatar 37,06, Malaysia 26,812, Oman 22,824, UAE 22,543, USA 22,028, Singapore 16,479,  UK 14,568, Kuwait 12,864, Italy 11,716, Canada 10,323, South Korea 9,758 and Australia 8,486.

Team Leader of the Out of Country Voting System and Implementation (OCV-SDI) Project Salim Ahmad Khan today told BSS that reaching expatriate Bangladeshis remains the biggest challenge in expatriate voter registration.

"We are trying to reach expatriates by coordinating with the embassies. For this purpose, we are holding meetings on Mondays and Thursdays every week with embassy officials," he said.

He said registration has fully started for government employees who are engaged in election duties and are staying outside their own voter constituencies. 

Expressing optimism, he said a significant number of voters would be able to register through the In-Country Postal Vote (ICPV) system.

Salim Ahmad Khan said the cost of in-country postal voting would be only Tk22, while the average cost for expatriate voters would be around Tk700.

He added that considering the current pace of expatriate voter registration, they are hopeful about registering five and six lakh voters.

Regarding the registration timeline for government employees, he said government officials engaged in election duties and those posted outside their respective voter areas would be able to register their names to exercise their voting rights through the app from the announcement of the election schedule until 25December 25.

Registration can be done through the "Postal Vote BD" app by 25 December, 2025 between 8am and 8pm to cast their votes through the In-Country Postal Vote (ICPV) system.

The EC Senior Secretary also said the initial target for postal ballot registration was set at one million voters.

The Election Commission has urged expatriate Bangladeshis to provide accurate addresses while registering their names through the app.

EC said that to receive a postal ballot, expatriate voters must provide a correct address where they are residing at the time of registration.

It said voters may provide their workplace address or the address of a known person if necessary. Without accurate and complete address details, it will not be possible to send postal ballot papers to voters, it said.

To cast votes through postal ballots, expatriate voters must use the mobile phone number of the country from which they will vote.

On 18 November, the Chief Election Commissioner inaugurated the 'Postal Vote BD' app and announced the voter registration schedule for 148 designated countries to allow them to cast their vote in the 13th National Parliamentary Election.

For registration, voters must first download and install the 'Postal Vote BD' app from the Google Play Store or the App Store.