Postal ballots to count only if received by 4:30pm on polling day: EC

The Election Commission (EC) has announced that postal ballots for the 13th National Parliamentary Election and referendum will only be counted if they reach the returning officer by 4:30pm on February 12, the day of polling.

Brigadier General Saleem Ahmed Khan, head of the EC’s Out-of-Country Voting System Development and Implementation Initiative, urged voters using postal ballots to submit them promptly. “Postal Vote BD registered voters should cast their ballots immediately and submit the yellow envelope at the nearest post office or mailbox. Ballots received after 4:30pm on February 12 will not be counted,” he said.

Postal voting for expatriates, government officials on election duty, and those in lawful custody opened at 5:00pm on January 21. Bangladesh has 127.6 million registered voters, of whom 1,533,683 (1,281,435 men and 252,246 women) have registered via the Postal Vote BD app.

Ahead of the polls, the EC has dispatched 728,023 postal ballots to voters in 122 countries. Voters will receive ballot papers bearing electoral symbols and can cast their votes via email. Saudi Arabia recorded the highest number of registrations at 239,186, while district-wise, Cumilla led with 112,090 registered overseas voters, followed by Dhaka with 108,757.

Additionally, 761,141 voters, including officials on election duty and people in lawful custody, have registered under the Postal Vote BD system, with 6,285 registrants currently in legal custody.

While postal voting has been part of Bangladesh’s electoral process since 1972, this is the first time the EC has implemented an IT-supported online postal voting system. The commission confirmed that expatriate voters will not be charged, although the cost per ballot under the system is Tk 700.