The Election Commission is set to allow new voters an opportunity to enrol their names in the voter’s list and collect their Smart National Identity Cards by registering online.
The commission plans to introduce the online voter registration service by mid-next year, said an EC official.
In this regard, the commission has already prepared a draft of the National Identity Card Registration Procedure 2014, adding the provisions for online registration and the renewal of Smart National Identity (NID) cards.
Earlier, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad said the commission will not provide smart cards to new voters in the present year.
The voter list updating will begin from May 15 across the country this year.
“The commission has sent it [the draft proposal] to the Law Ministry. The ministry has sent back some corrections,” a senior assistant secretary of the EC’s law wing told the Dhaka Tribune.
According to the draft, any for voter will be able to apply through the commission’s website or directly through the concerned EC office.
Besides, the commission will provide a “Smart Card” version of the existing NID with 10 years’ validity to voters, free of cost for the first time, while also setting renewal fees.
If any voter loses their card, they will have to apply to the commission for a new card.
At present, the country has 91,950, 641 voters.
