Home
+
Published : 17 Sep 2025, 02:13 AM
The Election Commission is moving ahead with an ambitious plan to allow expatriates to vote by post — but at an estimated cost of nearly Tk 4 billion, questions are being raised over whether the investment will bring in enough votes.
The plan includes developing a new app, “Postal Ballot BD,” alongside extensive logistical arrangements such as sending and receiving ballots overseas, issuing National ID cards abroad, and training election officials.
Officials say the initiative aims to bring around one million Bangladeshis living overseas into the voting process ahead of the February election.
So far, around 50,000 applications have been submitted across 17 missions in 10 countries, with nearly 18,000 expatriates confirmed as voters.
But experts warn that despite the expense, turnout in expatriate voting systems worldwide rarely exceeds 3 to 5 percent, raising doubts over how effective the initiative will be.
Election System Reform Commission member Abdul Alim pointed out that while postal voting is costly, the involvement of expatriates in national elections is crucial due to their contributions to Bangladesh’s development.
He emphasised that despite low voter turnout in many countries with postal voting systems, providing expatriates with the opportunity to vote is necessary.
Administrative and technical teams, alongside election officials, have travelled to several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Japan, Canada, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Qatar, the United States, and Singapore.
Upcoming visits to South Africa, Oman, the Maldives, and Jordan are also planned for October.
The majority of funding for the NID service abroad is coming from the Identification System for Enhancing Access to Service (IDEAS) Project, which aims to improve access to services for expatriates.
The EC has set ambitious goals for expatriate voter registration, with plans to register a few hundred thousand voters in time for the February election.
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?
While the EC has yet to release a final cost estimate, according to Saleem Ahmad Khan, a member of the expert committee on postal voting, the goal is to include around 1 million expatriates in the voting process, which may cost around Tk 4 billion.
The final cost will depend on the proposal from the postal department, which has suggested that sending and receiving each ballot could cost between Tk 400 and 550. Further costs, such as additional charges for sending ballots, could bring the overall expense to Tk 500 per ballot.
Alim said expatriate voter turnout has historically been low, with most countries reporting an average turnout of only 3 percent.
“It’s a costly process, there’s no doubt,” he said. “But considering the expatriates’ contribution to the country, facilitating their voting is crucial.”
He noted that even in countries like India, where large numbers of voters live abroad, turnout rarely exceeds 3 percent.
“Despite spending so much money, if we can secure 3-5 percent voter turnout, it will still be important,” he added.
Alim further pointed out that awareness is key to ensuring a successful expatriate voting process.
“Without public awareness, the process can’t succeed. There needs to be proper voter and civic education on how the ballots will be sent, how voting will take place, and how everything will work,” he said.
He suggested that the EC could collaborate with expatriate organisations to help raise awareness.
Alim also emphasised that the EC must avoid viewing the trips abroad by officials as “luxury travel”.
Despite the costs, ensuring expatriates can vote remains crucial.
“I don’t see this as luxury travel. Although it’s an expensive process, it’s vital to ensure expatriate voting,” he said.
He also noted that previous EC officers had undertaken similar trips but did not achieve significant success in securing expatriate votes.
“I’m sure the current Election Commission will learn from past experiences and take this task seriously. The public is watching, and they want to see the commission’s commitment to ensuring expatriates can vote,” Alim said.
Six years ago, the EC began the process of providing NID services to expatriates. Four years later, NID services were officially launched in the UAE.
After the fall of the Awami League government, the two former election commissioners who led these initiatives are now imprisoned, with investigations under way into voting irregularities and the purchase of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). EVMs have been dropped from the upcoming elections altogether.
EC’S RECENT MOVES
CEC Nasir visited Canada in early September to hold discussions on NID services and postal voting for expatriate Bangladeshis.
During the visit, he inaugurated smartcard services at the Bangladesh missions in Toronto and Ottawa. The Lalmonirhat district election officer accompanied him.
The expenses for this visit were covered under the EC’s IDEAS Project-2.
Election Commissioner Anwarul Islam Sarker traveled to Malaysia from Sept 14 to 17.
He inaugurated voter registration and AI-enabled NID distribution for expatriates and held public awareness meetings with Bangladesh High Commission officials and the community about overseas voting for the national election. Rajbari district election officer accompanied him.
Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah is scheduled to visit France from Sept 29 to Oct 3.
His visit will focus on the pre-shipment inspection (PSI) of blank smartcards. He will be accompanied by Brig Gen Mohammad Azizur Rahman Siddiqui, director of IDEA Project-2. During the trip, he will also hold meetings with the Bangladeshi community at the Bangladesh mission in France to discuss overseas voting (Out of Country Voting -- OVC).
Following this, the election commissioner will travel to Sweden on Oct 15–16 to participate in the “Expert Meeting on the Protecting Election Project” and meet the Bangladeshi community at the Bangladesh embassy in Stockholm regarding OVC.
The EC’s own teams, including technical and administrative staff, assist embassy personnel engaged in NID services by providing hands-on training, installing equipment, establishing networks, sending SMS to local mobile numbers, and performing other activities.
COUNTRY-WISE OUTREACH
United Arab Emirates: In May 2023, administrative and technical teams visited Dubai and Abu Dhabi. An inauguration team led by the CEC visited in July 2023.
Saudi Arabia: Administrative and technical teams visited Riyadh and Jeddah in October 2023. The inauguration team visited in July 2024 under the leadership of the CEC.
Italy: Administrative and technical teams visited Rome and Milan in October 2023. NID services were inaugurated by the election commissioner in February 2024.
United Kingdom: Technical teams visited Birmingham and Manchester in November 2023. Services were inaugurated by the election commissioner in June 2024.
Kuwait: Technical and administrative teams visited Kuwait City in March–April 2024. Services were inaugurated by the election commissioner in May 2024.
Qatar: Technical and administrative teams visited Doha in March–April 2024. Services were inaugurated in May 2024 by the then EC secretary.
Malaysia: Administrative and technical teams visited Kuala Lumpur in June–July 2024. Services were inaugurated by the election commissioner in September 2024.
Australia: Inspection teams worked in Canberra and Sydney in April 2024. Following training and discussions, one team member also visited Singapore for further oversight of the initiatives.
Japan: Technical teams worked in Tokyo, and NID services were inaugurated in August 2024 by the EC secretary.
Canada: In early April 2024, a five-member high-level inspection team visited Ottawa and Toronto. Later in mid-April, five technical members and six administrative members conducted further activities. One administrative team member also visited the United States. The CEC inaugurated NID services in Canada in September 2024.
TARGET LOCATIONS
United States: In the third week of September 2024, a two-member administrative team will visit New York and Washington DC, while separate two-member teams will visit Miami and Los Angeles. Earlier in mid-September, a four-member technical team will install equipment and provide training across four cities.
France, Sweden, South Africa, Oman, the Maldives, and Jordan are also scheduled for visits in October.
While inaugurating NID services in Canada on Thursday, CEC Nasir announced that expatriate Bangladeshis holding NIDs will be able to cast their votes through postal ballots in the parliamentary polls.
A dedicated app titled “Postal Ballot BD” is currently being developed for this purpose. Interested expatriates will be able to register through the app to express their intent to vote. Subsequently, election officials will be responsible for distributing and collecting constituency-specific ballot papers within the designated time frame.
Although the postal service will oversee the operational aspects, overall supervision will rest with the EC’s ad hoc committee, comprising representatives from all relevant agencies and departments.
In addition to expatriates, postal voting is also allowed for government officials, election duty personnel, and individuals in jail or legal custody within the country under the In-Country Postal Voter (ICPV) provisions.
