‘I checked the letterbox every day’: Bangladesh’s overseas voters jubilant over casting first ballots

When Omor Dhali, a Bangladeshi immigrant living in Belgium, saw the tracking update on his phone, he began checking his letterbox obsessively.

"It said my ballot would arrive on the 5th," he said. "From the 3rd, I was going downstairs every morning and evening to see if it had arrived."

Dhali spent much of the past year campaigning for the right of overseas Bangladeshis to vote. When the envelope finally arrived, it was more than a piece of official mail.

"That night, I cooked biryani for my wife and child," he said, laughing. "I've worked day and night for this. When I held that envelope in my hands, it felt personal."

Similar scenarios are unfolding across the world. Bangladeshis living abroad are finally taking part in a national election from outside the country, casting their ballots by post.

More than 800,000 non-resident Bangladeshis have applied for postal ballots, according to the Election Commission, marking the first time overseas voters have been formally included in the country's electoral process. 

With parliamentary elections scheduled for 12 February, postal ballots are reaching voters across the world and some envelopes carrying votes are now travelling back to Bangladesh from cities across Europe, the Middle East, North America, and Asia. 

For many, it is not just their first time voting from abroad. It is their first time voting at all.

'I didn't think it would work'

In Japan, Mushfiqul, a Bangladeshi student, received his ballot last week.

"Honestly, I didn't expect it to be this smooth," he said. "Bangladesh's systems are not famous for being organised. So my expectations were low."

Inside the envelope were two forms: one parliamentary ballot with party symbols, and another referendum-style form asking voters to say yes or no to proposed reforms.

"I filled everything in and I'll send it back within a day or two," Mushfiqul said. "When I saw how neatly everything was arranged, I felt, for once, expectations and reality actually matched."

This is his first vote, but not because he was previously too young.

"I could have voted in 2024," he said. "But I boycotted that election. I didn't believe my vote would matter under the Awami League regime. This feels like my first real vote."

That sense of a vote finally counting comes up repeatedly among overseas voters. 

"I'm excited because this could be the first truly fair and meaningful election we've seen," Mushfiqul said. "And the fact that I can take part from outside the country — that makes me feel acknowledged."

A long campaign for a basic right

For Dhali, the journey to this moment has been anything but simple.

"When the government first said expatriates could vote, people didn't believe it," he said. "Most had no idea they even had this right. The level of awareness was basically zero."

Dhali has spoken to Bangladeshis in more than a dozen European countries, as well as in the Gulf, North America and Southeast Asia.

"People kept asking the same question: Do we really get to vote?" he said. "Some thought they would have to fly back to Bangladesh. Others thought someone at home would vote on their behalf."

Proxy voting, he said, was deeply unpopular.

"People said voting in Bangladesh already lacks secrecy. If I give my vote to someone else, how do I know what they'll do with it? Even if it's a family member, privacy is gone."

When it became clear that the Election Commission might test overseas voting only on a limited scale, Dhali and others began organising more visibly. They held online meetings, sent formal proposals, staged small demonstrations and flooded social media with their campaigns. 

"We weren't asking for something radical," Dhali said. "We were asking for a basic democratic right."

A mix of confusion and excitement

Even after the decision to allow postal voting, the rollout was bumpy.

"People didn't know when registration would start," Dhali said. "Dates kept changing. There wasn't enough clear information."

Many were surprised to learn that a national ID card — not a passport — was required to register.

"Some people didn't even know where their voter ID card was," he said. "Others only had a photo, and didn't realise that was enough."

There were also technical problems. In Brussels, Dhali helped organise a registration camp at the Bangladesh embassy. Forty people showed up. None received the one-time passwords needed to log in.

"They were told to go home," he said. "I refused to accept that."

Standing outside the building, he realised that OTP messages arrived outdoors but not inside. One by one, they registered people on the pavement.

"We managed about 30," he said. "It sounds ridiculous, but that's what it took."

Now that ballots are arriving, a different set of challenges has emerged.

"Some people are voting too quickly," Dhali said. "They don't realise that party symbols can change because of alliances. Votes could be rendered invalid."

Others struggle with the process itself: scanning QR codes, confirming receipts, or understanding the referendum form.

"I had an elderly man here in Belgium call me and say, 'I've received the ballot but I don't understand anything.'"

They had to arrange a volunteer to help the elderly man. 

'I'm 42. This is my first vote'

In the US, Sumon Rafi, an assistant professor, described the experience more calmly, but no less profoundly.

"I am 42 years old, and this is the first time I am voting," he said.

For him, the significance lies in dignity. "Overseas voters feel valued," he said. "The ballot and procedures are clear and easy to understand. It allows people to make their own choices."

But he also offered caution.

"This process must remain private," he said. "As an educated citizen, I urge the Election Commission and the government to do the right thing, so that Bangladesh does not face another prolonged crisis caused by election manipulation."

His concerns are based on viral videos showing multiple ballots in single places and people casting it on camera or openly, subject to unfairness, secrecy and manipulation. 

'We send remittance — now we can vote'

In Malaysia, Jalal Uddin, a migrant worker, said the mood in his community was one of pride.

"We contribute so much to the economy," he said. "But we had no say in the most important national decision, i.e., voting. When this chance came, I felt blessed."

Participation among Bangladeshi workers, he said, was high.

"There were volunteers from different political backgrounds helping migrant workers with difficulties," Jalal said. "This wasn't about parties. It was about being counted."

He believes the system must continue.

"This is a necessary democratic practice," he said. "Postal voting should happen in every election from now on."

Back in Belgium, Dhali has laminated the plain white envelope his ballot arrived in and stored it carefully at home.

"I'll keep it," he said. "It reminds me that we were finally allowed in."

He remembers being turned away from a polling station in 2018, told his vote had already been cast.

"That humiliation stays with you," he said quietly. "This time feels different."

Still, he is wary of celebrating too early.

"Out of millions of overseas Bangladeshis, only a fraction managed to register," he said. "This is a beginning — not a success story yet."