As Bangladesh prepares for its 13th national parliamentary election on February 12, the government and the Election Commission maintain that a free, fair and neutral voting environment has been ensured. Heightened law enforcement deployment, administrative preparedness and the presence of international observers point to an orderly electoral process.
Yet beneath this apparent order, a fundamental question remains: Is the election truly participatory for all citizens?
Field-level reporting suggests that a significant segment of the electorate—particularly low-income workers, internal migrants, students and climate-affected populations—are effectively excluded due to the absence of accessible and flexible voting mechanisms.
Asma Begum, 45, lives in a tin-shed house near the Purba Rajarbazar Mosque in Dhaka’s Farmgate area. Originally from Karimganj upazila in Kishoreganj, she lives with her husband and three daughters. She works as a domestic helper, while her husband, a rickshaw puller, is unable to work long hours due to illness.
Asked whether she plans to vote, Asma said she had learned that she would need to return to her village to cast her ballot.
“Taking five people back and forth would cost Tk4,000 to Tk5,000,” she said. “For families like ours, that’s simply impossible.”
She said her family often struggles to manage daily expenses, adding that leaving her children behind in Dhaka is not an option.
“Voting doesn’t change our lives,” she said. “Governments come and go, but people like us remain the same. They make promises before elections, but we rarely see those promises fulfilled.”
Abdul Kaiyum, a rickshaw puller from Mymensingh, lives alone in Dhaka while his wife and three children stay in the village to reduce living costs. He said he had not yet decided whether he would return home to vote.
“On election day, there are usually more passengers in Dhaka, and earnings are higher,” he said. “If I go home, I have to pay travel costs and lose a day’s income.”
Kaiyum added that visiting family after a long absence without bringing money or gifts is socially difficult. While he plans to return home during Eid, travelling solely to vote remains uncertain.
For many daily wage earners, voting has become a difficult trade-off between civic duty and economic survival.
A private-sector employee from Chuadanga, currently working in Sylhet with the Pran-RFL Group, said voting would require at least two days off work—something his employer is unlikely to allow.
“If domestic postal voting were available, I would definitely vote,” he said. “But that option does not exist.”
Meanwhile, Samsuddoza, a Dhaka University student and a registered voter in Rajshahi, said he would miss his first-ever vote due to academic obligations.
“I have classes and term exams until February 10,” he said. “Spending that much money just to vote is beyond my capacity. This is the first time I’m being deprived of my voting right.”
Experts warn that excluding young voters in this way could lead to long-term disengagement from democratic processes.
Although some garment factories and industrial units are scheduled to remain closed around election day, uncertainty over wages, attendance and job security persists. Fearing income loss or dismissal, many workers opt to remain in urban areas rather than travel home to vote.
In Adabor’s Road No. 9, Sonia Begum, a domestic helper originally from Bhola in Barishal district, told Dhaka Tribune that she would not return home due to travel costs.
“We are poor people. What difference does it make if we don’t vote?” she said. “I will go home during Eid.”
Manik Mia, a vegetable vendor living with his family in the Shonirbil slum in Adabor, said neither he nor his wife—both registered voters in Mymensingh—planned to travel for the election.
“There is fear around going to polling centres,” he said. “And travelling home costs money. We will stay indoors on election day. No one knows what might happen.”
Nearby, tea seller Akkas Ali, originally from Dinajpur, echoed similar concerns.
“Going home costs at least Tk1,000,” he said. “Who spends that much money just to vote? I have three children. If I don’t earn for a day, what will we eat?”
“Before elections, we hear many speeches about becoming MPs and ministers. Afterwards, no one remembers us,” he added.
Economists argue that elections should not be assessed solely on the basis of peaceful conduct, stressing that inclusivity is equally critical.
While postal voting has been introduced for overseas Bangladeshis and certain government officials, no alternative voting arrangements exist for millions of internal migrants displaced by employment demands, climate change and rapid urbanisation.
“This is not just a logistical gap—it reflects a lack of policy foresight,” said one economist.
Earlier, BRAC’s Migration Programme noted that Bangladesh’s rapidly growing internal migration necessitates urgent reform of voter registration and voting systems.
“Without adaptive electoral mechanisms, a large segment of citizens risks being structurally excluded from political participation,” the organisation said.
Shahzada M Akram, senior research fellow at Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), told Dhaka Tribune that this was the first time Bangladesh had introduced postal voting to expand electoral participation.
“While the introduction of postal ballots is a positive step, it remains limited compared to international practices,” he said. “Future reforms should extend this mechanism to internal migrant voters so that citizens can vote from anywhere in the country, regardless of where they live or work.”
