Dhaka: A total of 529,091 voters have registered through the 'Postal Vote BD' app to participate in the upcoming 13th Jatiya Sangsad election and referendum, as reported by Election Commission (EC) sources today. This registration drive includes expatriate Bangladeshis and government employees involved in election duties or residing outside their registered voter areas.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, of the registered voters, 497,033 are male and 32,056 are female. The expatriate voter count stands at 462,593, while 66,498 are government employees stationed beyond their voter constituencies. Saudi Arabia leads in expatriate registrations with 132,111 voters, followed by Qatar with 49,663, and Oman with 36,893, among others.
In-country postal voting has seen 66,498 registrations via the app. Cumilla district recorded the highest registrations with 54,948 voters, followed by Dhaka with 46,502, and Chattogram with 45,687. Constituency-wise, Feni-3 saw the highest number of registrations at 8,550 voters.
Salim Ahmad Khan, leading the Out of Country Voting System and Implementation (OCV-SDI) project, indicated plans to expedite ballot delivery to expatriates. He anticipates registrations to rise between 500,000 and 600,000 for expatriates and at least one million for in-country postal voting. Furthermore, he addressed challenges, including cybersecurity, and noted the cost of postal voting, which is Tk 22 for in-country voters and approximately Tk 700 for expatriates.
The EC has specified registration deadlines for those involved in election duties and voters under legal custody. Additionally, the EC emphasized the importance of accurate address details for receiving postal ballots.
The Chief Election Commissioner inaugurated the 'Postal Vote BD' app on November 18, outlining the registration schedule for voters in 148 countries. Expatriate voters are required to use their mobile number from the country they will vote from and download the app from Google Play Store or App Store for registration.