United News of Bangladesh

Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah said on Wednesday that each voter would take three minutes and 52 seconds on average to cast their votes in the upcoming election and referendum. He, however, rejected the feasibility of increasing polling centres for the next election. Sanaullah made the remarks while addressing the inaugural session of a daylong journalist training programme at Agargaon of Dhaka ahead of the national election. Highlighting the importance of the election, he said, “The upcoming election is going to set the tone for what kind of country and democratic journey we want in the future.”   Seeking cooperation from all to hold an acceptable election, Sanaullah said the election system has been heavily damaged and they are trying to repair it. For the nation’s sake, all must ensure a good election and everyone must responsibly play their part, he said. To prevent fake journalists from entering polling areas with bogus cards, the election commission is going to initiate a QR‑code system, he asserted.  

The Election Commission (EC) is planning to set up two secret stamping places instead of one inside each polling booth to ensure smooth voter flow during the next parliamentary election and the referendum, both to be held simultaneously in a single day in February next. The move comes as the Commission anticipates that voters will require more time to cast their ballots since they will vote both in the national election and the referendum. “In one booth we initially calculated for one stamping place. Now we plan to install two (stamping places) so that the flow of voters remains uninterrupted,” said EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed while briefing reporters after a high-level meeting with  concerned top government officials at Nirbachan Bhaban on Sunday. The two-hour meeting, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin, was attended by senior representatives, including secretaries, directors general and chairmen from more than 30 relevant ministries, divisions and state bodies. The discussion focused on 22 major issues related to the upcoming national election and referendum. The EC Secretary said the number of polling stations won’t be required based on the assessment of data of the mock voting exercise conducted on Saturday. “A question came up whether we need additional polling stations. From the preliminary data collected during yesterday's mock voting, we saw that if we set up two secret stamping places inside each booth, we won’t need to increase the number of polling stations,” he said. Replying to a question whether the issue of having two secret stamping places in each booth was in practice in the past, he said, “I have not voted for the last 15 years (during the Awami League’s regime). I cannot say,” he said. Election of Century Focusing on the scale of the upcoming polls, the EC Secretary said, “It will be the largest election in 2026.” Noting that the Chief Adviser recently described it as ‘an election of the century’, he said several fundamental aspects require special attention—holding both a national election and a referendum together for the first time, bringing expatriate Bangladeshis under out-of-country voting, printing ballot papers in advance for the expatriates and ensuring real-time communication across the system. Raising Allowances   The Election Commission considers increasing the amount of allowance and the financial benefits for the election officers to prevent them from accepting the hospitality from local influential persons during their election duties. Akhtar Ahmed stressed that polling officials must not accept hospitality from local influential persons under any circumstances. “We repeatedly hear that election officials often accept hospitality from influential local figures on different occasions. We said this must not happen under any circumstance.  The main thing we have done is to increase their allowance and consider providing some additional financial benefits for discharging their election duties so that they don’t become dependent on others,” he said. Expat Voters The EC senior secretary said the temporary suspension of out-of-country voter (OCV) registration in several countries has now been lifted after fixing technical inconsistencies, especially the mismatch between submitted information and the required format. The seven countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He said an edit mode has been added to the Postal Vote BD app, which has already been downloaded over 210,000 times, with nearly 100,000 expatriates successfully registering so far. He said the EC has already requested the state-owned BTV and Sangsad TV to carry out an extensive campaign – national election, out-of-country voting (OCV) and referendum. Akhtar Ahmed also requested the private television channels and the relatives and friends of expatriates to encourage expatriates to complete their registration and vote in the 2026 election. About the postal ballots inside the country, he said three categories of voters are eligible to vote by postal ballot inside Bangladesh: government officials on duty, those who will be engaged in election duty, and detainees under lawful custody including prisons. But the in-country postal voting (ICPV) app is not yet launched, he added. He said all relevant ministries have been asked to nominate a contact point for emergency coordination. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will assign contact persons in mission offices abroad, and the Expatriates’ Welfare Ministry has been asked to sensitize labour councillors to motivate expatriates. During the meeting, it was informed that the Home Ministry would act as the lead agency for election-time security, and the government agencies concerned have been instructed to prioritize awareness on referendum campaigning, OCV registration, conduct rules, prevention of misuse of artificial intelligence, and voter education. Akhtar Ahmed said voter turnout is closely linked to voter education, and campaign activities will gradually expand up to the union level with support from the Information Ministry. He said installing two secret stamping centers in each polling booth—especially because voters must read and stamp on four referendum questions—may require additional budgetary allocation. “We will elaborate on these matters later,” he added. Among the 22 issues discussed in the meeting were the repair and renovation of access roads and physical structures of polling stations and booths; preparation of panels of polling officers; uninterrupted electricity supply for polling activities; removal of existing campaign materials from electoral areas; preparation of action plans for collection and compilation of loan-default information; manpower, transport and logistical support; steps by local administration and local government bodies to ensure law and order; review of academic and public examination schedules; strategies to prevent the spread of misinformation and disinformation on social media using AI tools; and ensuring communal harmony and the security of minority communities. Other issues included assistance in appointing election observers; arrangements for transporting electoral materials and polling officials in remote and hilly regions, including providing helicopters for the Commission; measures to carry out election-related publicity, awareness and motivation through media; budget allocation and related financial activities; appointment of executive magistrates to enforce the electoral code of conduct; daily weather updates; formation of medical teams and health service arrangements; immediate fire and disaster management measures; restrictions on vehicular and water transport during the election period; support for postal voting and management of postal ballots; and balloting arrangements for people behind legal bars, including prisoners and detainees. Earlier, on October 30, the Commission held a similar meeting with senior officials from 31 ministries, divisions and agencies. On November 27, the EC held a second-phase meeting with law enforcement agencies, including the armed forces, as part of its efforts to finalise the deployment strategy for security personnel during the upcoming national election and referendum. The first such security meeting took place on October 20 to ensure a free, fair and participatory 13th parliamentary election. Earlier, the Election held dialogues with 47 registered political parties, including BNP, Jamaat and National Citizen Party-NCP on November 13, 16, 17 and 19 last. In late September 2025, the Commission opened a series of electoral dialogues with different stakeholders amid talks with civil society representatives on September 28. Later, the EC held separate dialogues with 47 registered political parties, including BNP, Jamaat and NCP, as well as the representatives of teachers, senior journalists from different media outlets, election experts and election observers. The Election Commission will announce the schedule in the second week of December for holding the next general election and referendum on the July National Charter in a single day in early February 2026.

Nearly 87,000 expatriate Bangladeshi voters from different countries across the world have so far registered through a mobile app, ‘Postal Vote Bd’, in the past 10 days to vote in the upcoming national election and the referendum. The Election Commission (EC) on November 19 opened the ‘Postal Vote Bd’ app initially for 53 countries and then for a total of 143 countries. But on November 27, the EC suspended the registration process for the expatriates living in seven countries -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after many applicants input incorrect or incomplete mailing addresses. As of 7:10 pm on Saturday, a total of 86,844 expatriates—72,938 males and 13,906 females—had registered through the app. Among the registrants, the highest number came from the USA (16,835), followed by South Korea (9,275), Canada (8,027), Australia (7,102), Japan (6,712), Singapore (6,058), the UK (4,721), South Africa (4,667), Italy (3,441), Maldives (2,279), China (1,831), France (1,735), Portugal (1,674) and 1,674 (Germany). Among the registered expats, the highest 17,961 will vote in Dhaka district from abroad, while 6,582 in Cumilla, 6,044 in Sylhet, 5,320 in Noakhali, 5,036 in Chattogram, 2,500 in Munshiganj, 2,469 in Feni, 2,149 in Chandpur, 2,118 in Moulvibazar and 1,987 in Brahmanbaria district. In terms of constituencies, the highest 2,226 registered expats will vote in Sylhet-1, while 1,820 in Dhaka-18, 1,812 in Noakhali-1, 1,559 in Sylhet-6, and 1,558 in Dhaka-10 constituency. The expatriate registration process for expatriates will continue till December 18 next. Besides, the app will remain open for the government officials, polling personnel, prisoners under lawful custody from December 19 to 25. Though the postal balloting system has been in the laws for a long time, it was never practiced in the previous elections. This is the first time the Election Commission is introducing a hybrid postal balloting system, enabling expatriates, government staff, polling personnel and inmates to exercise their franchise through a combination of digital registration and manual voting. The EC aims to facilitate voting for approximately 5 million expatriate Bangladeshis living in 143 countries through this IT-supported postal voting mechanism. Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin on Saturday said the Election Commission will announce the schedule for the next general election in the second week of December. “Hopefully, what we expect is that it will be declared in the second week of December. When the schedule is announced, then you will know the dates (voting date, nomination deadline and the last date for withdrawal of candidacy),” he said, replying to a question from reporters. The CEC was talking to reporters after inspecting a mock voting exercise demonstrated at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Government Girls High School in the capital.

The Election Commission (EC) has clarified that the NID correction and voting address transfer services remain halted, but all other NID-related services will continue as usual ahead of the upcoming national election. "We have temporarily stopped the NID correction process to prepare the final voter lists. However, all other activities will continue,” said Director General of the EC’s National Identity Registration Wing ASM Humayun Kabir on Tuesday. He, however, said the Commission will accept the correction applications, complete the file works and make decisions over the applications. “We will approve these applications as soon as the election is over." A related letter signed by EC’s Senior Assistant Secretary Nasir Uddin Chowdhury stated the Election Commission has given directive to its officials concerned to include the registered voters in the database by completing all processes in a bid to prepare the finalise the electoral rolls on the occasion of the 13th National Parliamentary Election. Besides, the registration process of eligible citizens applying for national identity cards within the country will continue as before by the registration officers. “At the same time, the EC has also issued instructions to halt all types of corrections in the voter lists and national identity cards and voter transfer activities due to change of residence or other reasons until the completion of the 13th parliamentary election,” says the letter. According to the Election Commission, Bangladesh currently has a total of 127,695,183 registered voters. Among them, 64,814,907 are men, 62,879,042 are women, and 1,234 are third-gender voters.

More than 18,000 expatriate Bangladeshis from 53 countries have registered through a mobile app titled ‘Postal Vote Bd’ to vote in the 13th parliamentary election, likely to be held in early February 2026. As of 8:45 pm on Sunday, a total of 18,374 expatriates—16,765 males and 1,609 females—had registered through the app. The registration deadline for Bangladeshi diaspora voters in 53 countries across East Asia, South America, and Africa is set to expire at midnight on Sunday. Among the registrants, the highest number came from South Korea (7,883), followed by Japan (4,769), South Africa (2,409), China (1,312), Egypt (578), Mozambique (358), Libya (274), Mauritius (207), and Hong Kong (172). Other countries in the initial 53-country list include Mongolia, North Korea, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, DR Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Tunisia, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. The Election Commission (EC) launched the Postal Vote Bd app on November 18 and opened it to expatriate voters on November 19. The EC initially enabled registration for expatriates in 53 countries from November 19 to 23. The app will remain open for the expats staying in 16 countries from November 24 to 28, for the Bangladeshis staying in 42 other countries from November 29 to December 03, for the Bangladeshis staying in Saudi Arabia from December 04 to 08, the expats in 18 countries from December 09 to 13, for the Bangladeshis in 14 countries from December 14 to 18. Besides, the app will remain open for the government officials, polling personnel, prisoners under the lawful custody from December 19 to 25. Though the postal balloting system has been in the laws for a long, but it was never practiced in the previous elections. his is the first time the Election Commission is introducing a hybrid postal balloting system, enabling expatriates, government staff, polling personnel, and inmates to exercise their franchise through a combination of digital registration and manual voting. The EC aims to facilitate voting for approximately 5 million expatriate Bangladeshis living in 143 countries through this IT-supported postal voting mechanism.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party-BNP on Wednesday demanded the Election Commission to appoint returning officers (ROs) and assistant returning officers (AROs) from the EC’s own staff in the elections to bring a positive change in the country’s politics. “If you show courage once to take a decision that the returning officers and assistant returning officers would be appointed from the dedicated persons of your election commission, Bangladesh would witness a qualitative change in its politics,” said BNP Standing Committee member Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan while leading a three-member BNP delegation in the pre-election dialogue arranged by the Election Commission at Nirbachan Bhaban in the city. The discussion was held with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin in the chair as part of its ongoing dialogue with registered political parties ahead of the national election to be held in early February 2026. Besides, several other parties including Gonaodhikar Parishad, Nagorik Oikya and Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal-Basad Marxist attended the discussion. Noting that the country is going through a critical juncture and the EC’s role is vital now, Moyeen Khan urged the Commission to ensure the maximum utilisation of its manpower. He suggested the EC remain firm to utilise its authority for the sake of a fair election. “The EC must remain firm. The Constitution has given you the authority. There is no reason to be subservient. Religion must not be used for political purposes anywhere.” Moyeen Khan said the Commission is a constitutionally sanctified body. “All five of you (CEC and four election commissioners) are constitutionally sacrosanct persons. You say you are not subservient to the government,” he said.   About the compliance with the code of conduct, the BNP leader said following the code is not an issue of debate rather it is an obligation for political parties and candidates. “There is no scope for us to go beyond this code,” he said. However, Moyeen Khan criticised several sections of the election code, including the provision that requires candidates to give a written commitment to abide by the code. “The more you widen the net of rules and regulations, the more complicated things will become. Keep this thing simple. You need to motivate the people to be law-abiding citizens,” he said. Two other BNP delegation members are BNP Acting chairman’s adviser Mahdi Amin and EC’s former acting secretary Dr Mohammad Zakaria.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin on Tuesday said that introducing the postal balloting system for expatriates and other eligible voters will strengthen Bangladesh’s democracy and reinforce the bond between the state and its citizens abroad. “We firmly believe that this initiative will make the democracy of Bangladesh stronger and deepen the bonding of our expatriate citizens with the state,” he said while inaugurating a new mobile application designed to allow expatriate voters and other specific categories of voters to register for postal balloting in the 13th parliamentary election. The ‘Postal Vote BD’ mobile app was unveiled through a ceremony at the Nirbachan Bhaban auditorium in the capital. Expatriate Bangladeshis, persons on election duty, government staff who are serving outside their respective election areas, and those who are behind bars are being allowed to register through the mobile app to vote by postal ballot in the next general election to be held in early February 2026. In his remarks, the CEC said that expatriates contribute significantly to the nation’s economic citizenship and must also be included in its democratic citizenship. “Through their votes, the foundation of democracy will become broader, more representative, and stronger,” he said. He said the EC began working last year to ensure overseas voting in the election, addressing a longstanding deprivation of expatriate citizens who were unable to vote in the past. “Today’s initiative will make an end to this deprivation,” he added. He said the commission has brought a hybrid solution to end this deprivation with this IT-supported Postal Balloting system – combining digital registration with manual balloting, to overcome the structural challenges of implementing the balloting abroad. “We’ve tried to plug in all human conceivable gaps that might exist” said Nasir Uddin, noting that expatriates have effectively been unable to vote for the past 54 years. “This time they can vote. It is a huge challenge to create confidence in the system.” He emphasised that Bangladesh’s democratic rights should no longer be confined to geographical borders. “We believe that the postal balloting will play a significant role in achieving this goal. We’re not launching just an app but also introducing a new chapter where the Bangladeshi citizenship is not confined in any geographical location, rather it is a global (the citizen rights can be exercised from throughout the world). The postal vote opens the door of our democracy globally,” said the CEC. Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah said the commission has developed a hybrid solution to enable expatriates to cast their votes through the postal system. Sanaullah said that since every envelope is personalised and uniquely identifiable, each postal ballot can always be traced. “We will be able to easily identify every postal ballot,” he said. Mentioning that no postal ballot system is challenge-free in the world, the commissioner said their newly developed IT-supported postal balloting system is not completely free of challenges either. Explaining the challenges, he said the global registration rate for postal balloting is less than three percent. “Exactly, the registration rate is only 2.7 percent,” he said. Besides, the wastage rate of postal ballots is high. “The wastage rate is 24 percent, which means one-fourth of the ballots are wasted,” said Sanaullah. He said cyber security is another challenge for the postal balloting system. “So, to have some glitches here is not unusual,” said the Election Commissioner. He said voters who intend to vote through postal ballot will have to make a pledge that they must maintain the secrecy of their vote. Election commissioners Tahmida Ahmad and Md Anwarul Islam Saker were present. EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed delivered the welcome speech at the function attended by stakeholders in person and also by expatriates and Bangladeshi diplomats working in various missions around the world through a virtual platform. Speaking at the function virtually, Bangladesh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Md Delwar Hossain said some 35 lakh expatriate Bangladeshis are living in Saudi Arabia and expressed optimism that many voters will exercise their franchise in the upcoming national election from the country. According to EC officials, 7-8 percent of the country’s voters are staying abroad. The Election Commission has targeted some 50 lakh expatriate voters from 143 countries. The EC has a plan to start sending postal ballots with all listed symbols to different destinations soon after the announcement of the election schedule. Expatriate voters can cast their vote after the allocation of electoral symbols and drop their ballot at their nearby post office to send it back to the returning officer concerned by election day.

Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin on Tuesday launched a mobile app, ‘Postal Vote BD’, for a particular section of voters, including expatriates, to register for postal balloting in the 13th parliamentary election. The ‘Postal Vote BD’ mobile app was unveiled through a ceremony at the Nirbachan Bhaban auditorium in the capital. Expatriate Bangladeshis, persons on election duty, government staff who are serving outside their respective election areas and those who are behind bars are being allowed to register through the mobile app to vote by postal ballot in the next general election to be held in early February 2026. Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah said the commission has developed a hybrid solution to enable expatriates to cast their votes through the postal system. Sanaullah said that since every envelope is personalised and uniquely identifiable, each postal ballot can always be traced. “We will be able to easily identify every postal ballot,” he said. Mentioning that no postal ballot system is challenge-free in the world, the commissioner said their newly developed IT-supported postal balloting system is not completely free of challenges either. Explaining the challenges, he said the global registration rate for postal balloting is less than three percent. “Exactly, the registration rate is only 2.7 percent,” he said. Besides, the wastage rate of postal ballots is high. “The wastage rate is 24 percent, which means one-fourth of the ballots are wasted,” said Sanaullah. He said cyber security is another challenge for the postal balloting system. “So, to have some glitches here is not unusual,” said the Election Commissioner. He said voters who intend to vote through postal ballot will have to make a pledge that they must maintain the secrecy of their vote. Election commissioners Tahmida Ahmad and Md Anwarul Islam Saker were present. EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed delivered the welcome speech at the function attended by stakeholders in person and also by expatriates and Bangladeshi diplomats working in various missions around the world through a virtual platform. Speaking at the function virtually, Bangladesh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Md Delwar Hossain said some 35 lakh expatriate Bangladeshis are living in Saudi Arabia and expressed optimism that many voters will exercise their franchise in the upcoming national election from the country. According to EC officials, 7-8 percent of the country’s voters are staying abroad. The Election Commission has targeted some 50 lakh expatriate voters from 143 countries. The EC has a plan to start sending postal ballots with all listed symbols to different destinations soon after the announcement of the election schedule. Expatriate voters can cast their vote after the allocation of electoral symbols and drop their ballot at their nearby post office to send it back to the returning officer concerned by election day. On Monday, the CEC said although postal ballots for expatriates have always existed in the law, no Election Commission in the past worked with this complex issue. “Postal balloting has always been in the law, but it was never practised. We have taken up this work,” he said. The Election Commission is going to introduce the IT-supported postal balloting system to ensure that expatriates can vote in the election.

The government has moved to produce and disseminate promotional content to create a festive and participatory atmosphere ahead of the national election, with plans for a countrywide awareness campaign through an LED Activation Caravan. Officials said the initiative includes producing TV commercials, video documentaries and other visual materials that will be showcased in 64 districts and 300 upazilas using mobile LED units. The proposal received in-principle approval at a meeting of the Advisers Council Committee on Economic Affairs and the Advisers Council Committee on Government Purchase at the Secretariat on Tuesday with Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed in the chair. Speaking to reporters after the meetings, the adviser said the campaign will feature a documentary aimed at encouraging voters to view the election as a celebration and to take part enthusiastically. He said the documentary’s production will go through a competitive process as it is a professional assignment. Meeting sources said preparations must begin in the fourth week of November. The estimated cost of the project is Tk 25 crore. Dr Salehuddin declined to share budget details during the briefing, saying it would be inappropriate to disclose figures before the formal procurement process is completed.

Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Tuesday (November 18) said law-enforcement agencies are fully prepared to act against any attempt to destabilise the country, as the next national election is going to be held in the first half of February. He made the remarks at a meeting with German Ambassador to Bangladesh Dr Rudiger Loltz at the Ministry of Home Affairs, where the overall law-and-order situation dominated the discussions. The Adviser said law and order across the country remains normal, except a few isolated incidents reported following the verdict against Sheikh Hasina. He warned that strict action will be taken against anyone attempting to disrupt public security in the coming days. Read more: Fakhrul calls for resistance against ‘vested quarter’ ahead of Hasina verdict Jahangir Alam said that the responsibility for announcing the specific polling date lies with the Election Commission, but emphasised that security agencies are ready to support the electoral process whenever required. The meeting also focused on public reactions to the verdict, preparations surrounding the national election timeline, prisoner extradition, cybercrime, and other areas of cooperation. Germany and Bangladesh are ‘tested friends’, the Adviser said, adding that he hopes bilateral relations will continue to strengthen. Additional Secretary (Political) of the Home Ministry Khandaker Md Mahabubur Rahman and Anja Kersten, Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy, also attended the meeting. Read more: Working with a clear commitment to create fair election atmosphere: CEC