‘Postal Vote BD’ app set for Nov 18 launch to facilitate postal voting

EC admits possibility of users experiencing ‘minor’ issues

The Election Commission (EC) will launch the ‘Postal Vote BD’ app on Nov 18, enabling registration for postal voting in the general elections.

Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah shared the information on Monday afternoon during a meeting on the “Voting Procedure through Postal Ballots”.

Describing the method of casting and sending postal ballots, he said: “After the vote is cast, the return envelope will not go to the Election Commission. It will go directly to the returning officer.”

“We have designed a secure system. The postal department in Dhaka will be responsible for sending ballots to each returning officer. Expatriates’ votes will be counted on the day ballots are counted in the country,” Sanaullah said.

Urging expatriates to use accurate information and correct addresses while registering, the commissioner said: “Votes must be cast and sent back at the earliest after the announcement of the final candidates’ list and allocation of symbols. Ballots that do not arrive on time will not be counted.

“The first challenge is that of novelty. There might be some minor issues, and everyone will need to provide support.”

Addressing embassy officials, Sanaullah said: “We are reaching expatriates through you. Please inform the community about this.”

The commissioner urged those who need the app to download it as early as possible and register within the deadline set for different regions of the world.

Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed, Director General of the National Identity Registration Division ASM Humayun Kabir, and other senior officials attended the meeting.

Highlighting challenges conducting postal votes, Sanaullah said, “Globally, it goes through a long trial process. We are trying to meet our expatriates’ expectations as early as possible. We haven’t had enough trial time.”

“There might be minor issues since this is new. Everybody has to help. Ballot secrecy must be maintained,” he said.

The commission is spending Tk 700 for each postal vote, he said.

The 13th parliamentary election is scheduled to be held in the first half of February 2026. The EC is expected to announce in the first half of December the election schedule.

The postal voting registration and voting procedures can be accessed on the EC website.

EC Secretary Akhtar said the postal vote would be conducted through only one app.

Expatriate Bangladeshis as well as government officials posted across Bangladesh can use the app to cast votes. People on election duties on the polling day, and persons in custody would also be able to register and cast their votes through the app, he said.