Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Abdul Fazal Md Sanaullah on Wednesday said the ‘Postal Vote BD’ app will be launched by the third week of November for the registration of expatriate voters for casting ballots in the national election, expected to be held in February next.
“We’re developing a mobile app for registration under the ‘Out of Country Voting’ (OCV) system. InshAllah, this app will be launched by the third week of November,” he told reporters at Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital.
Sanaullah said the ballot papers will bear the election symbols of candidates not names of contenders. “After the symbols are allocated, expatriate voters will be able to see the final list of candidates through the mobile app or the website, and then cast their votes accordingly. Later, they will send back the ballot papers,” he explained.
Mentioning that expatriate voters will not need to bear any expense for exercising their franchise, he said, “This time, expatriates will not have to pay any charges, though each postal ballot costs around Tk 700.”
Citing global experiences, the commissioner said the international average registration rate for postal ballots is only 2.7 percent, with a voter turnout of less than 30 percent of the registered ones.
“But Bangladeshi expatriates are more enthusiastic compared to others,” he said.
Focusing on the experiences of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and other countries, Sanaullah said, “We must keep our expectations modest, but we will not fail.”
He mentioned two major challenges of postal ballots --ensuring ballot secrecy and the risk of invalidation of ballots received from abroad if court orders alter the list of contesting candidates after dispatch. “Globally, nearly 24 percent of postal ballots fail to reach their destination through regular mail.”
The commissioner said a new hybrid solution has been adopted this time and interested voters who register online will be sent a ballot with election symbols well in advance.
Expats must register thru mobile app to cast votes in Bangladesh election
He said Bangladesh has an expatriate population of 14 to 15 million, according to some estimates. “Excluding such a large group from the electoral process undermines inclusivity. I believe we must begin this initiative, no matter the scale,” he added.
The Chief Adviser in his address to the nation on December 16, 2024, pledged to create a system so that expatriates could apply their voting rights in the upcoming parliamentary election. Then the EC explored the mechanism to ensure the expatriates can vote in the election.