Bangladesh’s Election Commission has said that the secrecy of postal ballots was not compromised following the circulation of a video on social media showing ballot distribution in Bahrain.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Commission said the video, dated 12 January, showed ballot envelopes being sorted for delivery and did not involve any opening or tampering with the ballots.
According to the Bangladesh Embassy in Bahrain, the incident occurred on 11 January when Bahrain Post handed over 160 ballot envelopes to a colleague of several voters at their request, as the voters were at work at the time.
After the matter came to the embassy’s attention, officials contacted Bahrain Post and the expatriates concerned. The individual later appeared at the embassy with 129 unopened ballot envelopes that had not yet been delivered.
The Election Commission said none of the envelopes had been opened and that ballot confidentiality was fully preserved throughout the process.
It added that Bangladeshi missions abroad have been instructed to strengthen coordination with postal authorities and expatriate voters to ensure similar situations do not occur again.
