EC finalises voter roll at 12.77cr
Staff Reporter :
The Election Commission (EC) has released the final voter list ahead of Bangladesh’s 13th national parliamentary election, confirming that 12,76,95,183 citizens are now eligible to vote.
The updated figure, announced today (18 November) by EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed at the commission’s Agargaon headquarters, reflects a slight rise from the draft list published earlier this month, which had recorded 12,76,12,384 voters.
According to the final count, the electorate includes 6,48,14,907 men, 6,28,79,042 women, and 1,234 third-gender voters. The secretary said the list incorporates all citizens who turned 18 by 31 October 2025, meaning many will be voting for the first time.
He added that updated records show a 2.29% increase in male voters and a 4.16% increase in female voters, compared with the draft roll of 3 November.
Body-cam plan under review; deployment to focus on ‘sensitive areas’
Meanwhile, the government has moved to “rationalise” its plan to deploy body cameras during the upcoming election.
Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, speaking after meetings of the government’s procurement and economic affairs committees yesterday, said the earlier plan to deploy 40,000 body cameras is under reconsideration.
“Body cameras have been reviewed extensively. We have asked for further review,” he told reporters, adding that the devices would now likely be restricted to sensitive polling areas, primarily on the recommendation of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“Body cams will come, but perhaps now in a more rationalised manner,” the adviser said. “We cannot work with body cams everywhere. There are matters of monitoring them. Images will come; action will have to be taken.”
He confirmed that while the number would be reduced, he was “not saying by how much” at this stage.
Procurement, he added, would take place “very soon,” with the Ministry of Home Affairs purchasing the devices in consultation with the EC.
EC introduces ‘Postal Vote BD’ app for expatriate voters
In a significant development aimed at expanding voter access, the Election Commission has developed a new mobile application — Postal Vote BD — to enable expatriate Bangladeshis to register for postal voting in the upcoming election.
The app is set to launch shortly, with registration remaining open for four weeks thereafter.
The information is detailed in minutes of a meeting of the project Out of Country Voting System and Implementation (OCV–SDI), signed by Election Commissioner Brig Gen (Retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah.
Return of completed ballots to Bangladesh: from mid-January, with all ballots reaching returning officers by the first week of February The minutes emphasize that laws, rules, and guidelines must be formulated to ensure the IT-supported postal voting mechanism is free from legal complications, covering expatriates, on-duty government officials, election staff, and eligible voters held in legal custody.
Election officials on duty may also cast postal votes, but only if they are included in a pre-finalised panel prepared before the election schedule is announced. A complete database of polling personnel was ordered to be submitted by 15 November.
Ambitious registration target, funding needs
The project aims to register 5 million voters, though the initial phase will begin with 1 million expatriate and domestic postal voters, expanding depending on progress.
An estimated Tk 350 crore will be required to implement the initiative. As the amount is not available within the ongoing OCV–SDI project, the Election Management Wing–2 has been instructed to take immediate steps to secure the necessary funds.
Additionally, the EC will procure 140 QR code readers for returning officers, allowing them to scan QR-embedded postal ballots.
With the voter roll finalised, body-camera deployment being streamlined, and the digital postal-voting system preparing to go live, the Election Commission is now entering the final stretch of logistical preparations for the high-stakes election expected early next year.