Bangladesh has a significant diaspora spread across the globe, yet expatriates have long been unable to exercise their constitutional right to vote, despite growing demands.
The existing law, which allows for voting via postal ballot, has proven to be ineffective and impractical, and the growing need for reform is undeniable.
The postal ballot system, enshrined under Article 27 of "The Representation of the People Order, 1972," has largely failed to meet the needs of expatriates.
The timeline of the postal ballot process, taking 24 to 35 days from dispatch to return, does not allow enough time to complete the voting process before the election.
In response to this issue, the interim government and the Election Commission (EC) are working to fulfill the longstanding demand of the diaspora.
To this end, the EC formed a committee to study and recommend practical solutions for diaspora voting.
This committee has proposed three potential options, which, after further study and deliberations, could be implemented in the short to long term.
On Tuesday, A workshop has been organized to obtain expert input and further refine these options.
According to the EC committee report, the existing postal ballot system is a major point of concern.
As mentioned, the law allows for diaspora voting through postal ballots, but due to time constraints and inefficiencies, it has failed to be a viable solution. The process, which involves the dispatch and return of ballots, typically takes 24 to 35 days.
However, the report further mentioned that, by the time the ballots are printed and ready for dispatch, only 10 to 12 days remain to complete the process, leaving insufficient time for voters to receive and return their ballots before the election.
This timeline discrepancy makes it impossible to use the postal ballot system effectively.
To gain perspective, many countries worldwide have adopted various methods of diaspora voting. Around 100 countries and territories facilitate expatriate voting, with several methods in use.
The most common methods include in-person voting at embassy offices or designated locations, postal voting, absentee voting (as practiced in the USA), online voting (adopted by countries like Mexico, Estonia, the Philippines, and the USA, with trials in countries such as India and Pakistan), and proxy voting, noted by the commission report.
However, proxy voting allows a voter to designate a trusted individual to cast their vote on their behalf. Countries like India (for military personnel overseas), Australia, the UK, several EU nations, and parts of Canada have adopted this method to varying degrees.
Meanwhile, the Electoral Reform Commission (ERC) has recommended two primary options for expatriate voting: IT-supported postal ballots and online voting.
The committee has thoroughly studied these options and explored their feasibility. While both options offer potential, they are not without challenges. Online voting, despite being an attractive option, has yet to be universally embraced due to security and technical concerns, with countries like Mexico and Estonia among those leading the way in testing this method.
However, the committee has also recommended conducting a pilot project to explore the possibility of online voting in the future.
The committee has expressed a strong preference for proxy voting as the most viable option for the upcoming elections.
Proxy voting is seen as the only feasible method that can be deployed globally, allowing for the broadest participation among expatriates.
Under this system, a voter would select a trusted individual to cast their vote in person on their behalf.
This method, which requires registration for eligible voters, seems to be the most practical and universally applicable option for expatriate Bangladeshis.
The registration process for these voting methods would ensure that only voters on the list are eligible to participate.
In terms of developing the architecture for expatriate voting, the committee has outlined several key criteria for each of the proposed methods: ensuring the integrity of the voter and vote, maintaining system security, meeting timeliness requirements, providing ease of understanding for voters, ensuring cost-effectiveness, and establishing an audit trail or other record-keeping systems where necessary.
On Tuesday, the Electoral Training Institute (ETI), a wing of the Election Commission, hosted a workshop to discuss and develop practical models for diaspora voting.
The workshop, attended by around 80 participants, included experts from Dhaka University (DU), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), and the Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST), as well as government and non-government stakeholders.
The objective of the workshop was to devise feasible architectures for the three proposed voting methods.
These architectures will be presented to stakeholders for feedback, and once a consensus is reached, the system will be fully developed and tested.
The workshop's discussions focused on developing models that ensure security, integrity, timeliness, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness.
An oversight team, comprising experts from the EC and other technical institutions, will synthesize the proposed architectures and create one final model, with variations where necessary, for each voting method.
Global scenario of expatriate voting
Globally, 115 out of 178 countries and territories provide a mechanism for expatriate voting, with a variety of methods in use.
In-person voting is the most common (74%), followed by postal voting (58%), online voting (10%), and proxy voting (5%).
Additionally, a small number of countries, such as India, the UK, and parts of Canada, have adopted proxy voting as a viable option.
The EC is keenly focused on the proxy voting method for Bangladesh’s expatriates, as it seems to be the most feasible and widely applicable.
Registration processes for expatriate voting vary, with some countries requiring expatriates to register for each election, others offering registration for a set period, and some allowing permanent registration.
In a briefing on Tuesday, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin said that the EC will finalize the expatriate voting system following consultations with technical experts.
The CEC emphasized the importance of prioritizing expatriate voting rights and expressed confidence that the workshop would help determine the most suitable voting method. “I believe that today's workshop will help us determine a specific voting method,” he said.
He further explained that any chosen system would be piloted in select countries before being expanded.
The CEC reaffirmed the EC’s commitment, along with the Interim Government’s, to facilitating expatriate voting in the upcoming elections.
He explained that while many expatriates have requested the right to vote, it has proven to be a complex issue.
After extensive deliberation, the EC is focusing on three potential methods: postal voting, online voting, and proxy voting, with proxy voting emerging as the preferred choice. The CEC pointed to Germany’s experience with proxy voting as a model to consider.
Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah also addressed the workshop, noting that while postal and online voting methods might not be effective in Bangladesh, proxy voting appeared to be the most appropriate option for expatriates.
At the workshop, experts from Dhaka University (DU) emphasized that both domestic and international attention will be on the election organized by the interim government.
They cautioned that introducing any new voting methods could risk creating controversy and unfairness, and instead, they argued that only the existing voting system, one that is widely recognized and accepted, should be considered.
However, some foreign stakeholders advocated for proxy voting, citing global examples and the technological advancements that could ensure its accuracy and reliability.
