EC Completes Global Postal Ballot Distribution for Expatriates

Election Commission (EC) of Bangladesh has finished distributing postal ballot papers to 767,028 country's voters living abroad across 121 countries, allowing them to participate in the 13th National Parliament Election and the referendum.

According to EC officials, the overseas ballot dispatch began in stages on December 20 and concluded within approximately three weeks, ensuring coverage of all registered expatriate voters.

Officials from the Bangladesh Postal Department confirmed that the final batch of ballots was sent yesterday. Assistant Postmaster General of the Airport Sorting Office, Shamim Sohani, said all ballot papers received from the EC have now been forwarded to international destinations.

To guarantee quick delivery, the ballots were transported via several international carriers, including Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Emirates, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Saudia Airlines. Authorities expect the ballots to reach voters within the next few days.

The extensive Out of Country Voting (OCV) initiative was implemented through coordinated efforts involving the Election Commission of Bangladesh, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, the Bangladesh Postal Department, the Civil Aviation Authority and partner airlines.

Salim Ahmad Khan, team leader of the OCV-SDI expatriate voter registration project, stated that ballot delivery was unsuccessful in a limited number of cases due to incorrect or incomplete address information provided by applicants.

He further noted that 761,141 voters inside Bangladesh have enrolled under the in-country postal voting system. The distribution of ballots for these voters will begin after the allocation of election symbols on January 21, and the full domestic process—sending and receiving ballots—is expected to take about seven days.

Khan also emphasized that voters are personally responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their postal ballots. Any breach of ballot secrecy could lead to the suspension of the voter’s National Identity Card (NID).

Country-wise data shows that Saudi Arabia received the largest number of ballots, totaling 237,529. This was followed by Malaysia (84,174), Qatar (75,869) and Oman (56,063).

Overall, EC records indicate that 1,533,683 voters registered through the Postal Vote BD app for the upcoming election and referendum. This total includes 772,542 expatriate voters and 761,141 voters residing within Bangladesh.