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Published : 12 Feb 2026, 06:42 PM
A postman has travelled nearly 57km, partly on foot and partly by rickshaw, to deliver postal ballots just minutes before voting ended in the Feb 12 election and referendum.
The incident occurred in Mymensingh’s Haluaghat Upazila, a border area, said Salim Ahmad Khan, team leader of the Election Commission’s Out of Country Voting System Development and Implementation (OCV-SDI) project.
The postal worker reached the Mymensingh Post Office at 4:27pm on Thursday -- three minutes before the official 4:30pm voting deadline.
Postmaster Sudip Ghosh then immediately carried the bag to the deputy commissioner’s office.
According to the Election Commission, three yellow envelopes addressed to the Mymensingh returning officer had been sent from Haluaghat.
“The poor postman, unable to find any vehicle, travelled about 57km on foot and on a rickshaw before arriving at the Mymensingh Post Office at exactly 4:27pm,” Salim Ahmad Khan said.
“Without any delay, Postmaster Sudip Ghosh left for the DC’s office with the postman’s bag. Then the clock struck exactly 4:30pm.”
He said the bag was opened in front of the NDC and the votes were counted.
“The postal department was successful in this latest test as well,” he added, noting that vehicles were on uninterrupted duty on other routes.
According to Election Commission data, postal votes of 1,133,845 people from within and outside the country have reached returning officers during the 2026 election and referendum vote.
Of 766,862 ballots sent to expatriate voters, 498,5266 ballots have arrived in Bangladesh. Of these, 495,551 ballots have reached returning officers.
Meanwhile, postal ballots were sent to 760,898 voters across the country. Of them, 648,294 have returned their ballots to the returning officers.
In total, 1,533,000 voters registered to vote by postal ballot from both home and abroad during this election.
The EC provided the postal voting facility to government employees, law enforcing personnel and prisoners assigned to vote within the country.
Voting in the Feb 12 election and referendum was held from 7:30am to 4:30pm on Thursday. Vote counting is now underway.
