Election Commission to conduct survey on under-18 citizens for the first time

The Election Commission will start gathering data on citizens aged between 15 and 17 years from July 25.

It is the first time this non-voter age group is being documented.

EC Secretary Md Sirazul Islam said they issued a circular on Tuesday after getting the EC nod.

Information on this age group will be collected in two stages, he said, adding details of the programme would be announced at a press conference on Thursday.

Brig Gen Sultanuzzaman Md Saleh Uddin, director general of the National Identity Registration Wing, said the number of those between the ages of 15 and 17 was around 7.2 million.

It will cost around Tk 810 million to gather the date over a six-month period, he added.

Several election commissioners had opposed the proposal after the EC nodded it in principle in May, saying it would be a ‘waste of funds’.

They pointed out the EC was set to update its database after six months and the process to issue smartcards to around 90 million voters was on. 

Documenting this age group would make things complex, they argued.

Saleh Uddin-led ‘evaluation committee’ recommended the move after reviewing practices in 80 countries in Asia, Europe, America and Australia.

Information on 17-year-olds will be collected in the first phase from July 25, he said, adding that their names will be included in next year’s draft voter list.

Citizens aged 15 and 16 years, who will be voters from Jan 1, 2018, will be documented from Oct 22 in the second phase.

Their names will be included in the draft and final voters’ list when they are 18.