Bangladesh’s Election Commission (EC) has said that about 4,500 postal ballots sent to expatriate voters were returned after postal authorities failed to locate the recipients’ addresses, leaving no scope for further action.
Election Commissioner Brigadier General (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah disclosed the information while briefing reporters at the Election Commission building in Agargaon on 15 January. He said most of the undelivered ballots were returned from Malaysia, followed by Italy.
Providing an update on the postal voting process ahead of the upcoming national election, Sanaullah said the EC has so far dispatched 767,084 postal ballots. Of these, 707,500 have already reached their destination countries, while 59,584 are currently in transit. According to the commission, 140,873 ballots have been confirmed as received by expatriate voters.
“We are counting only those ballots where voters have scanned the QR code after receiving them,” the election commissioner said, explaining the verification process.
Election Commission officials said registration for expatriate voters began on 19 November through the newly introduced “Postal Vote BD” app, which is being used for the first time in a national election. After the election schedule was announced, registration was also opened for voters inside Bangladesh. EC data shows that 772,542 applications were submitted by expatriates, while 761,140 applications came from voters within the country.
Sanaullah also expressed concern over the widespread use of shared addresses in the postal voting system. He said 171,680 voters used addresses shared by two people, while 95,816 voters shared addresses with up to five people. Around 59,276 voters registered addresses shared by 10 people, 38,109 by 20 people, and 21,915 by between 20 and 50 people. In addition, 14,891 voters were registered at addresses shared by 50 to 100 people or even more.
Explaining the issue, the election commissioner said many expatriate workers live in crowded accommodations and do not have individual postal addresses. In many cases, he said, voters used post boxes, nearby shops or other locations where mail could be delivered.
Issuing a strong warning against any irregularities in postal voting, Sanaullah said there would be zero tolerance for misuse. He stressed that electoral integrity must not be compromised under any circumstances.
He also warned that Bangladesh’s international image and overseas labour market are closely linked to the credibility of the election process. Any untoward incident, he said, could have a negative impact on employment opportunities abroad.
“There will be no concessions,” Sanaullah said. “From blocking national identity cards to filing criminal cases, strict action will be taken. If necessary, offenders will be brought back to Bangladesh. No one should think the Election Commission is inactive or that postal ballots can be misused.”
