EC to keep postal voting registration open for all Bangladeshi expatriates until Dec 18

The Election Commission has decided to lift the regional restrictions and five-day timeframe imposed on postal voting registration, allowing Bangladeshi expatriates to enrol until Dec 18 to vote for the parliamentary elections.

Initially, the EC gave five days to Bangladeshi expatriates to register through the Postal Vote BD app. Initially, simultaneous registration was barred for different regions.

The registered voters can also take part in the referendum, which is scheduled to be held on the same day as the parliamentary election.

EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed informed journalists about the new decision on Wednesday afternoon.

“Bangladeshi expatriates from all over the world can register through the ‘Postal Vote BD’ app from 12:01am on Nov 27 to 11:59pm on Dec 18,” said Akhtar.

On Nov 18, Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin inaugurated the Postal Vote BD registration app.

The decision comes a day after the BNP demanded an extension of the registration period.

With the EC’s new decision, overseas Bangladeshis in nearly 150 countries can now register simultaneously without any regional division.

The EC also decided to hold a mock voting on Saturday. The voting will take place between 8am and 12pm at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Government Girls’ High School.

An ordinance was promulgated on Tuesday to hold the referendum and the national election on the same day.

A delegation from the social media platform TikTok also met with the EC.