The Election Commission has requested the expatriate Bangladeshis to cast their votes through postal ballots by January 25 so that the ballots can return in time before the upcoming national election and referendum scheduled for February 12.

“We’ve requested them to cast votes by January 25. But it does not mean that if someone posts their ballot on January 26 it will not be accepted,” EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed while talking to reporters on Tuesday.

He said as long as the ballot reaches here within the stipulated time frame, it will be considered valid.

Replying to a question on whether the January 25 deadline would be extended, he said there is no scope for extension. “There is no opportunity to extend the deadline. However, if someone posts the ballot on January 26 and it reaches us within the timeframe, it will still be acceptable,” he added.

The registered expatriate voters will be able to cast their votes after the allocation of electoral symbols scheduled for Wednesday (January 21).

According to the Election Commission, more than 772,500 expatriates have registered to vote through postal ballots in the February 12 elections. The Commission has already dispatched postal ballots to different destinations across 122 countries.

Among expatriate voters, the highest number—239,186—are from Saudi Arabia. Besides, 84,292 voters are from Malaysia, 76,139 from Qatar, 56,207 from Oman, 38,574 from the United Arab Emirates, 35,386 from Kuwait, 32,414 from the United Kingdom, 31,064 from the United States, 24,444 from Italy, 19,719 from Bahrain, 18,129 from Singapore, 14,681 from Canada, 11,702 from South Korea and 11,158 from Australia.

The Election Commission announced the election schedule on December 11 to hold the 13th Parliamentary election and the referendum on the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order simultaneously on February 12, 2026.