93% of inmates skip voting despite first-ever opportunity

Despite being allowed to vote for the first time in the country’s history, an overwhelming majority of prison inmates did not take part in the election, with 93 percent abstaining from the process, according to prison authorities.

Out of around 85,000 inmates nationwide, only 4,538 cast their votes, representing roughly seven percent of the total prison population. Eligible inmates exercised their voting rights through postal ballots.

Prison officials said voting inside jails began on February 3 and concluded on Saturday, with an additional day granted to allow remaining registered inmates to vote. Voting continued on Sunday for this purpose.

According to the Department of Prisons, 6,313 inmates from 75 prisons applied for voter registration. After invalid and incomplete applications were rejected, the number of eligible registered inmates stood at 5,940. Of them, 4,538 had cast ballots by Saturday.

Daily turnout figures showed that 1,521 inmates voted on February 3, followed by 988 on February 4, 1,138 on February 5, 420 on February 6, and 471 on February 7.

Commenting on the low turnout, Assistant Inspector General (Development and Media) of the Department of Prisons, Md Jannat-ul-Farhad, said the limited participation was mainly due to two factors. “Many inmates did not have national identity cards and therefore could not apply. Others believed that if they registered to vote inside prison, they would not be able to vote outside if released on bail before election day,” he said.

Some pro-Awami League lawyers, however, claimed that many inmates chose not to vote because they were affiliated with the now-banned Awami League and its affiliated organisations.

The authorities said the initiative marked a historic step toward extending voting rights to incarcerated citizens, though participation remained significantly lower than expected.