Bangladesh adds 1.3 million voters in latest electoral roll update

Nationwide electorate tops 127 million after update

The Election Commission (EC) has added more than 1.3 million new voters in the third phase of the voter list update ahead of the parliamentary polls.

EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed shared the development during a press conference at the Nirbachan Bhaban in Dhaka on Sunday.

He said “1,304,880 citizens” who turned 18 between Sept 1 and Oct 31 were newly enrolled.

The draft voter roll has been published, and the final list will be released on Nov 18 after resolving objections.

With the latest inclusion, the total number of registered voters in Bangladesh stands at 127.6 million.

Of them, 64.8 million are men, 62.9 million are women, and 1,230 are transgender voters.

The EC, led by AMM Nasir Uddin, was formed after the Awami League government was removed from power on Aug 5.

The election schedule is expected in early December and polling in the first half of February.

Before this, the voter list was updated twice this year -- once in March, followed by a second phase starting on Jan 20 to include those omitted earlier and citizens above 18.

The final list for that phase was published in August.

To ensure participation of expatriate Bangladeshis, the EC has introduced a postal voting system.

Expatriates can register through the “Postal Vote BD” app to cast ballots by post.

Akhtar said the registration app will be launched on Nov 16, when details about the registration period will also be announced.

He added that NID services are already operational in 21 offices across 11 countries, allowing expatriates to register and vote once enlisted as voters.

The EC secretary clarified that citizens aged 16, though eligible to receive NIDs, will not be allowed to vote until they reach 18.