Arrival delay may cause cancellation of postal ballots

An uncertainty has been looming about the inclusion of postal ballots cast by expatriate Bangladeshis in the 13th National Parliament Elections and Referendum in the vote count.

The Election Commission (EC) has said that if the ballot papers do not reach the country by today, February 5, the relevant votes may be considered cancelled.

This warning was given in a notification published on the Election Commission's specialized app 'Postal Vote BD' on Tuesday (February 3).

According to EC sources, although the postal ballot system has been put in place to ensure the voting rights of expatriate Bangladeshis, there is a deadline for this. The notification has requested expatriate voters that after exercising their voting rights, they should fill in the white ballot envelope and the necessary declaration form properly, put it in a yellow envelope and submit it to the nearest post office as soon as possible.

The notification further states that if any ballot does not reach Bangladesh by February 5, it will not be possible to send it to the office of the relevant returning officer within the stipulated time.

According to the election rules, if the ballot paper does not reach the office of the returning officer by 4:30 pm on the day of the election, it will be out of the scope of vote counting.

Considering the overall situation, the Election Commission has specifically urged to send the ballots by post quickly to ensure the voting rights of expatriate voters.