Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah on Wednesday said they are going to form an advisory team with experts to finalise the balloting system for expatriate Bangladeshis living in different countries throughout the world.
“This time, we will be able to bring the expatriates under the voting system, no matter whether it will be on a small scale or a large scale,” he told a press briefing at the Nirbachon Bhaban in the capital.
Md Sanaullah also raised the outcomes of a workshop arranged on Tuesday by the Election Commission to seek opinions from technical experts to determine suitable voting system for expatriate Bangladeshis.
He said experts suggested that adopting a single system will not be enough for Bangladesh rather it needs to go for a mixed system.
Sanaullah said every system – postal, online or proxy balloting system— has merits and demerits. Every system will require trial process or mock testing and even may require piloting before its introduction on a large scale, he added.
“We will form an advisory team with experts from among them (participants of the workshop). It will be formed today. This team will work to overcome the weaknesses of the three systems (postal, online and proxy balloting systems) and make them more robust in a realistic manner over the next 10 to 12 days,” said the Election Commissioner.
He said the Election Commissioner said the Chief Adviser first mentioned in his speech to ensure voting rights of the expatriates. Out of 178 countries in the world, 115 countries have made arrangements for their expatriate citizens to vote. The most followed method is manual system arranged at the embassy, followed by postal balloting system, and then online or proxy voting system, he added.
“We don’t single out or rule out any option,” said Md Sanaullah adding that the target of this commission is at least to introduce an arrangement so that the expatriates can vote.
He said now only postal balloting system is on operation for the expatriate Bangladeshis but it is ineffective.
Not a single expatriate voted in the 12th parliamentary election through the postal balloting system, he added.