More than 18,000 expatriate Bangladeshis from 53 countries have registered through a mobile app titled “Postal Vote Bd” to vote in the 13th National Parliamentary Election, likely to be held in early February 2026.
As of 8:45pm 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 Tuesday and opened it to expatriate voters on Wednesday.
The EC initially enabled registration for expatriates in 53 countries from Wednesday to Sunday.
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 3, for the Bangladeshis staying in Saudi Arabia from December 4 to 8, the expats in 18 countries from December 9 to 13, and for the Bangladeshis in 14 countries from December 14 to 18.
Besides, the app will remain open for the government officials, polling personnel, and 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.