How voters can find polling stations and voter numbers ahead of Bangladesh election

The Election Commission outlines four ways for voters to find essential voting information

Ahead of Bangladesh’s 13th parliamentary election, the Election Commission (EC) has outlined four ways for voters to find essential voting information, including their polling station location and voter number. These include a mobile app, a hotline, SMS service and the EC’s website.

Voters can check the name and location of their polling station from home, as well as their voting serial number, by entering their NID number in the "Smart Election Management BD" app.

The parliamentary election and referendum will be held on Feb 12, with voting taking place in 299 constituencies.

This year, Bangladesh has nearly 130 million registered voters, and a total of 42,779 polling stations across the country.

Md Ruhul Amin Mollik, director of the EC’s public relations wing, said the app is available on both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

“Through the app, voters can easily access detailed information from home, including the polling station’s location, photographs, distance from their residence and maps,” he said.

He added that the app also provides information on registered political parties, candidates’ affidavits, election-related guidelines, and election results.

The EC said it has introduced four methods to help voters find their polling station and voter number.

Method 1: Smart Election Management BD app

After opening the app, users must select “13th National Parliamentary Election” from the dashboard. They then need to go to the “Find Polling Station” option and enter their NID number and date of birth.

The app will display the voter number, serial number, and the name and address of the polling station.

Method 2: Hotline number 105

Voters can call the voter hotline number 105 from anywhere in the country to obtain information about their voter number and polling station.

After calling, pressing 9 will connect the caller to an operator. Voters will be required to provide their NID number and date of birth.

The hotline service will be available daily from 6am to midnight.

Method 3: SMS to 105

Voters can also obtain their voter number and polling station details by SMS.

To do this, they need to type “PC NID” in the message option on their mobile phone and send it to 105. A reply message will then provide the voter number and polling station information.

Method 4: EC website (ecs.gov.bd)

Voters can also use the EC's website to find their voter number and polling station details.

By visiting ecs.gov.bd from any browser on a laptop, desktop computer or mobile phone, users can click on the “Polling Station” menu to access the search options.

There are two ways to search on the website. First, voters can select their electoral constituency and Upazila or police station to view a list of polling stations in the area.

Second, voters can search by entering their NID number and date of birth to obtain their voter number and polling station information.

The website also allows users to view polling station locations directly on Google Maps.

Through this feature, voters can see the distance to their polling station and get detailed directions on how to reach it.