BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman has not yet been registered as a voter, Election Commission (EC) Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed confirmed on Monday.
He briefed reporters at the commission’s headquarters in Agargaon, Dhaka.
When asked if Tarique Rahman is currently a voter, Akhtar Ahmed said, “To my knowledge, he has not.” On whether he can still contest elections, the Secretary added, “He can, if the commission decides so.”
Asked whether this applies only to Tarique Rahman, Akhtar Ahmed responded, “Why single out an individual? This could apply to anyone.”
The EC Secretary also clarified the limitations on National ID (NID) corrections. “We are finalising the voter list. At present, seven fields cannot be modified, including voter name, father’s name, mother’s name, occupation, date of birth, voter address, and photograph. However, if the Commission allows, corrections in these fields may be considered. Other fields such as spouse’s name, marital status, educational qualifications, applicable disability type, and telephone number can be updated,” he said.
Akhtar Ahmed noted that many voters face issues with telephone numbers, as the numbers listed on their NIDs are no longer active.
“Corrections for such issues are being allowed due to online submissions. But changes to the seven core fields cannot be permitted at this stage, as they would impact the voter list,” he explained.
He further confirmed that the new NID registration process is ongoing and will continue, with only those who turned 18 by 31 October and are registered being included in the voter list.
Regarding expatriate voters, the registration deadline for the Postal Vote BD app has been extended from 18 December to 25 December.
For in-country postal voting (ICPV), registration will run for 15 days following the schedule announcement.
