Home
+
Published : 01 Jul 2025, 01:53 AM
After facing objections from political parties, the Election Commission (EC) has stepped back from proxy voting for expatriates and is now exploring a technology-assisted postal voting system.
The system will also cover voters inside Bangladesh who are physically unable to vote in person.
While the voting method remains the same as the current postal ballot process, the proposed change lies in the registration: instead of submitting a paper application to the returning officer, voters would register online.
Abdul Momin Sarker, member secretary of the EC’s ICT Integration Committee for voter lists and election management, said the shift aims to simplify the process while keeping the core structure unchanged.
Currently, expatriate Bangladeshis, election officials, government employees posted outside their home constituencies, and inmates are allowed to vote by postal ballot.
They must apply within 15 days of the election schedule being announced.
Once accepted, returning officers send them a ballot paper and a return envelope.
The commission is now working to replace the paper-based application step with an online registration process.
Despite being legally in place, the postal ballot system has never gained popularity or proven to be fully effective.
In the 12th general election, President Mohammed Shahabuddin was among the very few who cast their votes through this method.
With proxy voting no longer under consideration, the commission is now focused on how to make the tech-supported postal system more functional. “We are now looking at how to make this tech-assisted postal voting system more effective than the existing model,” Momin told bdnews24.com.
He noted that a pilot for the online system is being explored.
A meeting of the Election Management ICT Implementation Committee was held at the EC headquarters on Jun 24.
In line with political party recommendations, the meeting reviewed the feasibility of a tech-enabled postal system for overseas voters.
The EC has also begun consultations with the Bangladesh Post Office and international courier companies, including FedEx and DHL.
Representatives from these organisations attended the meeting and provided input on the logistics of sending and returning ballots to and from voters abroad.
According to EC officials, delivering and collecting postal ballots via private couriers could cost as much as Tk 5,000 per voter, while the state-run EMS postal service may cost nearly Tk 500.
Courier representatives said they are capable of delivering ballots abroad and collecting them within 12 days.
Their local agents would hand the ballot to the registered voter and later collect the completed ballot to return to Bangladesh.
According to EC estimates, more than 10 million Bangladeshis living abroad are eligible to vote, out of a total of 123.7 million voters in the country.
The push to bring expatriates into the voting process comes under a directive from Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus.
The commission had initially examined three options for expatriate voting, including proxy voting -- where a designated person would cast a ballot on behalf of an overseas voter.
But political parties raised concerns about “irregularities and misuse” under that model, prompting the EC to move away from it.
In proxy voting, a designated individual casts a vote on behalf of an expatriate, who transfers their voting rights to that person for a particular election.
