Expatriates will be able to cast their votes in the upcoming national parliamentary election, Election Commission (EC) Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed confirmed Tuesday, adding that the commission is making full efforts to ensure their participation.
“In sha Allah, expatriates will vote in Bangladesh’s next election. We are working toward that goal with full effort,” he told reporters during a short briefing outside his office at the Election Building in Dhaka’s Agargaon.
Akhtar Ahmed said two platforms are being developed for out-of-country and in-country special voting arrangements. Expatriate Bangladeshis with valid National Identity (NID) cards will be able to register from abroad, while those inside the country who are engaged in election duties or in legal custody will be included in a new in-country postal ballot system. “The app and platform for this are being developed, and we will brief you regularly once it is ready,” he added.
Regarding political party registration, he said field-level information from 22 parties has been collected and compiled. “We will finalize the broad sheet by tomorrow and submit it to the Commission, after which it will make a decision,” he noted.
He also said a proposal to amend regulations concerning electoral symbols is pending with the Law Ministry’s legislative wing. “We hope it will come soon, as there is a direct link between party registration and allocation of symbols,” he said.
NID from age 16
The EC secretary announced that citizens aged 16 and above can now apply for a National Identity Card (NID). “Anyone who turns 16 can apply, regardless of January 1 or March 1 cut-off dates. However, constitutionally, the voting age remains 18,” he clarified.
He added that the requirement to file a general diary (GD) for a lost NID has been scrapped to ease public inconvenience. “People will now be able to get a replacement card without the need for a GD,” he said.
Asked about demands for constituency re-demarcation following a human chain protest earlier in the day, Akhtar Ahmed pointed to legal limitations. “According to the law, once delimitation is finalized under Sections 6 and 7, scope for revision is very limited, even through the courts,” he said.