Staff Reporter :
The Election Commission (EC) will soon announce the official registration process for expatriate Bangladeshis to cast their votes for the first time through postal ballots.
Meanwhile, The Election Commission (EC) will publish the updated final voter list on November 18 ahead of the upcoming 13th Jatiya Sangsad elections, said the EC in a press release issued on Monday.
EC’s newly appointed Director of Public Relations, Ruhul Amin Mallik, briefed journalists at the commission’s media center on Monday. He said the Out of Country Voting (OCV) project had been designed and submitted for approval.
“We expect the commission to approve it by this evening. Once approved, we will announce the details,” he said, stressing that widespread publicity would be needed so that expatriates clearly understand the process. Later in the day, the EC published two separate guidelines on its website explaining how expatriates can register and vote online.
According to the instructions, expatriates must download the Postal Vote BD app from Google Play Store or Apple’s App Store. After creating an account, they will verify their mobile number with a one-time password (OTP).
They must then upload a selfie holding their National ID card, a separate photo of the NID, a passport photo if available, and provide their current overseas address. Once all information is verified, the app will display the message: “You are now registered.”
After registration, the information will go to the returning officer, who will prepare a separate voters’ list.
At the designated time, the returning officer will send ballot papers and related materials to the expatriate’s overseas address in three envelopes.
One envelope will contain the ballot paper, while another will bear the constituency number and the returning officer’s address.
The voter will mark the ballot, place it inside the designated envelope, sign a declaration form, and drop it in the nearest postbox.
The EC guidelines also specify that once the ballot packet arrives, the voter must log into the app again, reconfirm the mobile number, take a new photo, and scan the QR code printed on the envelope.
Only then will the list of candidates for their constituency appear on the app, after finalisation of nominations. The voter can then cast the ballot accordingly and return it by post.
Apart from expatriates, prisoners and government officials engaged in election duty inside the country will also be allowed to vote by postal ballot.
The EC is preparing to announce the election schedule in early December, with the 13th parliamentary polls planned for the first half of February.
