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Published : 05 Oct 2025, 02:17 AM
Nine years after Bangladesh launched the Smart National Identity Card project, the Election Commission (EC) is still far from delivering cards to all citizens.
When the Smart NID distribution began, the target was to reach every citizen within just over a year. Nearly eight years after that deadline, the constitutional body remains unable to say when the goal will finally be met.
For much of this time, progress has been slowed by shortages of blank Smart Cards. Now, the EC is moving to purchase more than 23.6 million blank cards to speed up printing and distribution.
Later this month, an election commissioner and the project director will travel to France for pre-shipment quality inspection. If all goes well, the EC expects shipments of cards to begin arriving regularly from October, restoring momentum to the long-delayed rollout.
Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said he expects the new supplies to “accelerate both printing and distribution”.
Asked when every citizen would finally receive a smart card, he replied: “It’s too early to say. We are trying to ensure that a significant number can receive theirs soon.”
As of mid-September, the National Identity Registration Wing and the EC’s public relations section reported that 88.7 million Smart Cards had been printed, most of which had already been sent to local Upazila and thana offices for distribution.
SLOW PROGRESS DESPITE A DECADE OF PROMISES
Bangladesh began issuing photo-based laminated NIDs in 2008. Eight years later, in October 2016, the EC launched the upgraded Smart Cards, promising to deliver them to all 90 million registered voters by the following year.
But that target was missed by a wide margin. To date, only around 88.7 million cards have been printed, and roughly 16 percent of them remain undistributed.
Meanwhile, the total number of registered voters has grown to around 126.3 million, leaving a shortfall of nearly 40 million cards.
The next national election, expected in early February 2026, is likely to add even more pressure. The final voter list, to be published on Nov 30, will include citizens turning 18 by Oct 31, adding at least another 1.5 million new voters.
Every year, the EC also publishes a draft voter list on Jan 2 and finalises it by Mar 2 after claims and objections, which typically brings a further rise in voter numbers.
Still, the EC cannot offer any clear timeline for full coverage.
“Printing and distribution depend on procurement and the supply chain,” Secretary Akhtar explained. “By the end of this year, we may not reach everyone, but we expect to cover about 80 percent of eligible citizens.”
A TIMELINE OF DELAYS, SHIFTING PARTNERS
>> 2007–2008: Bangladesh began creating photo-based voter lists and distributing laminated National ID cards, covering over 81 million voters at the time.
>> 2011: The then Election Commission launched a new project with the World Bank's support to introduce upgraded Smart National ID cards.
>> Under the Identification System for Enhancing Access to Services (IDEA) project, smart card distribution began five years later.
>> The EC signed a contract with the French technology firm Oberthur Technologies to supply nearly 100 million cards. However, despite several extensions of the project’s deadline, the company failed to deliver all cards on time, stalling the rollout.
>> In 2018, the EC turned to the Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory (BMTF), run by the Bangladesh Army, to procure cards domestically.
>> A later attempt to resume procurement from Oberthur Technologies faltered over pricing disputes, and the previous commission, which oversaw that phase, ended its term amid political change.
>> The current Election Commission, appointed in November last year, has again sought technical assistance from the French company to restart large-scale production.
Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah, speaking after a commission meeting on Jan 30, confirmed the EC had decided to purchase new “blank cards” to resume the stalled distribution.
He explained that supplies had been suspended for months. “The supply of blank NID cards was halted for some time. We had an agreement with the Army to buy 30 million cards, but they said they could not supply them due to the rising dollar rate.”
After prolonged discussions, the Army-run BMTF agreed to supply the cards at Tk 172 each, he said.
“We decided to buy as many cards as possible within Tk 4.06 billion from them. The commission has now approved procurement to move the process forward.”
16% OF PRINTED SMART NIDS UNDISTRIBUTED BY JULY
By July this year, the Election Commission had printed 87.08 million Smart NID cards, of which 72.79 million had been distributed with a completion rate of 83.59 percent. That leaves 14.29 million cards, or 16.41 percent, still undelivered, according to EC data.
Officials said, because of higher production costs, the BMTF will now supply fewer cards than originally planned -- about 23.63 million instead of 30 million.
The project, initially set to expire in November this year, is being extended by another year without increasing costs, the EC confirmed. As the current batch will not cover total demand, the remaining cards may be procured later through the revenue budget.
The current Election Commission has also decided to issue NID cards to citizens aged 16 and above, but Smart Cards are still reserved only for eligible voters aged 18 or older.
Those aged under 18 receive laminated plastic cards upon registration.
EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed explained on Wednesday: “More than 23.6 million blank cards will be imported from France, which will be used for Smart NID production.
“For underage citizens, we’re giving plastic cards. Unless we stabilise the supply line, it won’t be possible to issue Smart Cards to them. Voters remain our first priority.”
He acknowledged that a prolonged shortage of blank cards had slowed down printing and distribution.
“As you know, we’ve been facing blank-card constraints for a long time,” he said. “Hopefully, this will be resolved soon.”
