EC urges expats maintaining postal ballot secrecy

Staff Reporter :

The Election Commission (EC) issued a stern reminder to expatriate voters to maintain the secrecy of their postal ballots ahead of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad election and referendum scheduled for February 12.

In a message released on Saturday, the EC cautioned that sharing any images, videos, or information related to postal votes on social media is a punishable offense under the law.

“Protecting the secrecy of postal votes is both your right and responsibility,” the EC stressed, urging voters to refrain from any public disclosure of their voting process.

The commission warned that such actions could lead to severe legal consequences, including the blocking of National Identity (NID) cards and other legal actions.

Salim Ahmad Khan, the Team Leader for the Out-of-Country Voting System and Implementation (OCV-SDI) project, reminded the expatriates and government officials on election duty to follow the guidelines carefully.
In an effort to ensure maximum participation in the upcoming elections, over 552,000 postal ballots have been dispatched to expatriate voters worldwide over the past 14 days, allowing them to cast their votes remotely.
As of today, the registration of postal voters from both domestic and international locations has exceeded one million, with a total of 1,041,451 voters registered, according to the latest figures from the EC website on 31 December last year.

Of the registered voters, 914,166 are male, while 127,283 are female. The majority of the expatriate voters are from Saudi Arabia (187,177), Qatar (66,248), Malaysia (56,663), Oman (47,484), and the United Arab Emirates (31,399).

A total of 419,021 voters have registered from within Bangladesh, with Cumilla, Dhaka, and Chittagong leading the districts in registration.

Notably, constituencies such as Feni-3, Chittagong-15, and Noakhali-1 have recorded the highest registration numbers, with 13,651, 11,048, and 10,976 voters, respectively.

The EC has extended the registration deadline for postal voting, allowing expatriates, government employees, and voters under legal custody to register through the app ‘Postal Vote BD’ until December 31.

Since its launch on November 18, the app has enabled voters from 148 countries to register, although a valid mobile number from the respective country is required.

As the election day approaches, the Election Commission continues to urge all voters to follow the guidelines to ensure a smooth and secure voting process.