A total of 70,660 expatriate Bangladeshis have registered for the nation’s inaugural postal voting system, a new mechanism enabling their participation in the upcoming 13th Jatiya Sangsad election and referendum.
According to updated data from the Election Commission (EC) website, the registrations were processed through the “Postal Vote BD” app as of 11:30am on Friday.
The registrants comprise 59,510 men and 11,150 women. By country, the United States leads with 14,236 registered voters, followed by South Korea (9,075), Canada (7,087), Japan (6,452), Australia (6,027), and South Africa (4,480).
The registration service, however, faced a temporary suspension in Saudi Arabia and six other nations due to incorrect or incomplete address information being submitted through the app. The EC anticipates resuming the service by the end of the day on Friday, according to EC Secretariat Director and Information Officer Md Ruhul Amin Mallik.
Officials explained the technical hurdle on Thursday. EC Secretariat Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed and the Team Leader of the OCV and SDI Project, Brigadier General (Retd) Salim Ahmad Khan, stated that the issue was detected around 2:30am the previous night.
They emphasised that ballot papers must be delivered to precise addresses written in English with complete postal codes. Widespread provision of wrong or incomplete information in mandatory fields necessitated the temporary halt.
The officials said expatriates would be notified through embassies and other channels about the requirement for correct address details. They added that the system was designed for expatriates to register on Friday, a weekly holiday abroad, expressing hope that the app would be reopened on that day.
The EC has now made the app-based registration process available to expatriate voters in all countries worldwide. A press release issued on Wednesday night stated that the global registration window is open from 12:01 am Bangladesh time on 27 November until 11:59pm on 18 December.
The initial rollout on 18 November had divided the global expatriate community into eight regions, each with a specific five-day registration window. The Senior Secretary confirmed this restriction has now been lifted for the convenience of expatriates, allowing them to register from anywhere in the world at any time from 27 November onward.
The Chief Election Commissioner inaugurated the app on 18 November, announcing the initial registration schedule for 148 designated countries.
To cast a postal ballot, an expatriate voter must use a mobile number from their country of residence, download the “Postal Vote BD” app from the Google Play Store or App Store, and follow the instructions, which are available in both Bangla and English.
Providing accurate addresses remains critical to ensure the successful delivery of ballot papers abroad.
