Postal voting to begin after Jan 21

Ahead of the 13th National Parliamentary Election and referendum, the Election Commission, EC, has introduced the postal ballot system for the first time. Under this system, voting rights are being ensured for expatriate voters as well as officials and employees engaged in election duties and individuals in legal custody. Registered voters will be able to cast their votes through postal ballots after January 21.

The EC disclosed the information in a notification on Monday, January 19.

According to the notification, once the ballot reaches the address provided by the voter, it must be collected and, after January 21, the voter must log into the designated app to exercise their voting rights on their own responsibility.

This time, three categories of citizens within the country—government employees, members of law enforcement agencies and individuals in legal custody—are eligible to vote through postal ballots. In addition, expatriate Bangladeshis residing in more than 120 countries will also cast their votes under this system.

A total of 1.53 million voters have registered to vote by postal ballot this year.