A total of 15,33, 682 voters have registered for casting their votes through postal ballots, as registration for postal votes ended on Monday, says Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam.
“Of them, 761,140 are from within the country and 772,542 are members of the Bangladeshi diaspora,” he said at a briefing at the Foreign Service Academy today (January 6).
The voters inside the country registered for postal ballots because they will be on election duty and unable to vote at their designated polling stations, he said, adding, the members of the Bangladeshi diaspora are going to participate in the process for the first time.
Shafiqul said the country has witnessed an unprecedented response to its first-ever online postal ballot registration, marking a significant step toward inclusive and participatory elections, particularly for expatriate voters.
He said Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus termed the response as “a historic event.”
Noting that while the global inclusion rate for diaspora voting in countries with long-standing systems averages 2.7%, Shafiqul said Bangladesh has surpassed 5% in its very first year.
The Election Commission’s postal voting model is now being closely observed by international stakeholders, including the European Union, UNDP, and several European countries, he added.
The press secretary said that the Election Commission has stated that postal ballots will be sent and cast starting from January 21, once the final list of candidates is confirmed.
The Chief Adviser emphasised that this initial experience will be crucial for expanding diaspora participation in future elections, he said, adding, with an estimated 1.5 crore Bangladeshis living abroad, the long-term goal is to ensure voting access for all eligible expatriates.
About government initiatives to make people aware of the polls, especially about the referendum, Shafiqul said the ‘Super Caravan’ started the campaign on December 20 with a convoy of 10 vehicles titled ‘Vote’r Gari’.
Stating that the campaign got an overwhelming public response, he said the number of vehicles in the caravan will be increased from 10 to 30 and their coverage will be expanded from 300 to 495 upazilas, including hard-to-reach island districts such as Bhola and Hatiya where feasible.
The newly added vehicles to the ‘Super Caravan’ will run from January 9 to January 31 and screen 30 TVCs on the elections and the referendum, the press secretary said.
Noting that the Election Commission’s preparations are going on in full swing, he said training for 75% of security personnel, including police, Ansar, Coast Guard, and Border Guard Bangladesh, has already been completed, while the remaining preparations will be completed soon.
“We hope all concerned will remain prepared for voting,” Shafiqul said, adding that training on CCTV monitoring and body-worn cameras is ongoing and is expected to be completed by January 31.
To ensure rapid response to any election-related disruptions, he said, the Ministry of Home Affairs is developing a dedicated mobile app that will allow incidents of violence or irregularities to be reported instantly from anywhere in the country.
Monitoring control rooms will be established at the upazila, district and division levels with a central control room in Dhaka, the press secretary added.
