A video showing individuals counting postal ballots for Bangladesh’s 13th National Parliamentary election recently went viral on social media, raising questions about the integrity of the process.
The envelopes visible in the footage carry addresses from Bahrain.
On Tuesday, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) called on the Election Commission (EC) to take legal action, alleging involvement of leaders of a “particular political party.”
The 7-minute 32-second video shows a group of people counting postal ballots inside a residential apartment. In the footage, one person asks the camera operator to stop recording, citing concerns about videos spreading on social media. Another voice warns that multiple recordings could damage reputations and potentially affect postal voting by expatriates in Bahrain.
A separate, 27-second clip has also circulated online, reportedly showing postal ballots being counted at a residential location. The short video references the Chittagong-3 constituency.
Chittagong-3 Returning Officer and Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Miah told reporters: “We received information about the matter last night. It happened outside the country, but we cannot yet confirm which country. We are looking into it.”
On Saturday afternoon, a four-member BNP delegation, led by standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan, met Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin at the EC office in Agargaon. The party raised concerns over the viral postal ballot videos.
Nazrul said the EC had contacted the Bangladeshi ambassador in Bahrain and assured the BNP that a thorough investigation would be conducted. He added that any attempt to manipulate the election process could result in blocking the national identity card (NID) and voter registration of the individuals involved.
The Election Commission has not yet issued an official statement. Jamaat-e-Islami representatives could not be reached for comment.
Postal voting expansion
For the first time, Bangladeshi expatriates were allowed to vote via postal ballots in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad election, alongside government officials working outside their constituencies, election duty officials, and prisoners.
Although postal voting existed previously, access was limited. This election introduced an “IT-supported postal ballot” system and included amendments to electoral laws. Registration through the “Postal Vote BD” app concluded on January 5.
According to EC sources, 1,527,155 voters were approved for postal voting across the country’s 300 parliamentary constituencies. Of them, over 7,60,000 are expatriates. The remaining registrants include nearly 575,000 government employees, around 160,000 election officials, 10,000 Ansar-VDP members, and more than 6,000 prisoners.