As Bangladesh prepares for the February 12 general election and referendum, the Election Commission’s newly introduced IT-supported hybrid postal balloting system has raised hopes for voters away from their constituencies, but journalists covering polls outside their home areas are once again set to miss the opportunity to vote.
Following three consecutive controversial elections, the Election Commission has, for the first time, introduced postal voting for expatriate Bangladeshis and selected groups within the country.
The system applies to government officials, bankers, officials engaged in election duties and voters in legal custody who cannot stay in their constituencies on polling day.
Journalists, however, have been excluded from the arrangement, despite being professionally deployed across districts to cover the election, a role widely recognised as essential to the democratic process.
As a result, a significant number of media professionals are likely to remain unable to cast their votes in the upcoming polls, continuing a pattern that has persisted for years.
According to a briefing by Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam, the postal voting initiative has received an unprecedented response.
A total of 1,533,682 voters registered through the Postal BD app, including 761,140 domestic voters who will be on duty or away from their constituencies on election day, alongside 772,542 expatriate voters.
Journalists working outside their registered constituencies argue that the facility should not be limited to specific professions.
They say postal voting ought to be extended to all voters compelled by professional obligations to remain away from their home areas, particularly media workers, who play a critical role during elections.
Kaler Kantho Editor Hasan Hafiz, who is also the Jatiya Press Club President, said that the government’s introduction of a new postal ballot system is a commendable initiative, but journalists should have been included.
“Journalists are, in a sense, expatriates within their own country. When others assigned election-day duties are given the opportunity, why are journalists treated in such a discriminatory manner?” he said.
Hasan Hafiz also noted that journalists perform their election duties at considerable risk and therefore should have been given priority. “We strongly demand this. There is still time, and we urge the authorities to consider the matter,” he added.
Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU) President Abu Saleh Akon said, “Journalists have to cover assignments on election day, and those who work outside their own areas would not have the opportunity to vote. With the new postal ballot system, it should be accessible to us. We urge the government to consider this.”
Secretary of the Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) Khurshid Alam expressed concern over the exclusion, stating, “After the July uprising, this is a form of discrimination against journalists. As members of the fourth estate, have journalists committed any wrongdoing? While performing our professional duties for the country and the people, we are being deprived of the opportunity to vote. If others can vote, journalists must be given the same opportunity, and the government should take all necessary efforts to ensure this.”
Similar concerns were echoed outside the capital.
Khulna Press Club Convener and Daily Ittefaq’s Khulna Bureau Chief Enamul Haque said almost all journalists in Khulna remain engaged in professional duties on election day.
“As a result, voters who are registered outside their constituencies will not be able to exercise their voting rights even if they want to. The government should take the matter seriously. The issue has already been raised with the regional election office,” he said.
In Chattogram, Press Club President and regional chief of Daily Amar Desh Zahidul Karim said the Election Commission could have included genuine journalists working outside their constituencies under the postal voting system.
The Election Commission had earlier indicated that arrangements might be made for journalists to vote through postal ballots. However, it later said that the issue would be considered at a later stage.
Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud told UNB that if the newly introduced IT-supported postal balloting system proves successful in the February 12 national election and referendum, the Commission would consider extending the facility to journalists and other such communities.
“If it is successful, it will be extended further. Then we’ll consider including journalists and others because many problems may surface with this system,” he said.
Free, fearless media vital to Bangladesh democracy: Journalists
Rahmanel Masud also noted that if public opinion favours the proxy balloting system currently used for expatriates, the Election Commission may consider introducing proxy balloting alongside the postal system in the future.
For now, however, journalists covering the polls across Bangladesh remain on the sidelines of the ballot -- reporting on democracy while being unable to participate in it themselves.