Dhaka: The opportunity to register through the ‘Postal Vote BD’ app to cast votes by postal ballot in the upcoming 13th national elections and referendum will end at 12:00am (midnight) tonight. Since its launch on November 18 last year, a total of 14,10,962 voters have registered using the app.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Salim Ahmad Khan, Team Leader of the Out of Country Voting System and Implementation (OCV-SDI) Project, expressed that the registration of such a large number of voters through the app is encouraging and has set an example globally. Speaking to BSS, he noted the app’s significant response from voters. The registration period will not be extended further, and postal ballots have already been sent to 614,703 registered expatriate voters. All expatriate voters are expected to receive their ballots by January 10.
Salim Ahmad Khan also mentioned that the target at this stage was to register 15 lakh voters. However, approximately 10,000 voter addresses were found to be incorrect, prompting messages to be sent requesting updated information. He emphasized the responsibility of expatriates who have received postal ballots to maintain confidentiality, warning that any breach could result in the blocking of their National Identity Card (NID).
Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarkar informed BSS that the registration through the Postal Vote BD app has met with overwhelming success, achieving the Election Commission’s target. Besides Bangladeshi expatriates, officials and employees assigned election duties, as well as government employees working outside their voting areas, are also registering through the app.
According to the latest information available on the Election Commission (EC) website as of 10:30am today, among the 14,10,962 registered voters, 11,95,377 are male and 2,15,583 are female. Expatriate voters have registered in significant numbers from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Qatar, and Oman. In-country postal vote registrations have also been substantial, with Cumilla, Dhaka, and Chattogram recording the highest numbers district-wise.
Expatriates from 148 countries are utilizing their respective country’s mobile numbers to register via the app, and voters in legal custody are also eligible to register under this process.