EC extends postal voting registration for expats by 15 days

The Election Commission has extended the registration deadline for postal voting through the Postal Vote BD app until December 25 to increase participation of expatriates in the 13th National Parliament election and the simultaneous referendum.

Nearly 200,000 overseas voters have registered so far.

The extension also applies to three categories of domestic voters: election duty personnel, government employees posted outside their constituency, and voters under legal custody. Registration must be completed via the app, and accurate foreign addresses are mandatory.

As of Saturday, 195,000 expatriates had registered, including over 175,000 men and 19,000 women, with the highest numbers from Saudi Arabia, followed by the U.S., Singapore, Malaysia, the U.K., and the UAE.

The EC outlined voting rules: no VPN use, follow facial recognition procedures without masks or hats, mark only one symbol, ensure correct declaration, and restrict multiple registrations or OTPs per device.

Preparations are underway to hold the parliamentary election and referendum together in the second half of February, with the schedule expected by December 11.