The Election Commission (EC) aims to bring 50 lakh expatriates into the fold for the upcoming 13th national parliamentary elections. To achieve this, the commission has estimated an expenditure of Tk 400 crore, with an allocation of Tk 700 per voter.
Officials at the EC confirmed the plan, although they noted that the final cost would depend on future developments.
Expatriate voters in different countries
The commission has gathered data from the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA), and other organizations, identifying 40 countries with significant Bangladeshi expatriate populations.
These countries include: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Libya, Sudan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Italy, Hong Kong, Egypt, Brunei, Mauritius, Iraq, the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Greece, Spain, Germany, South Africa, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Brazil, China, Indonesia, the Maldives, New Zealand, Russia, Turkey, and Cyprus. A total of 1,40,46,534 Bangladeshi expatriates reside in these countries. Saudi Arabia has the largest community with 40,49,588 individuals, while New Zealand has the smallest with 2,500.
The EC estimates that approximately 70 percent of these expatriates possess National Identity (NID) cards. Based on this, the commission has set a target of reaching 50 percent of these NID-holding expatriates.
Senior EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed explained that there is no definitive count of expatriates in each country. After consultations with organizations working with expatriates, the commission believes there are around 1.3 crore or slightly more Bangladeshi expatriates, 70 percent of whom likely have NIDs. Hence, the commission expects to engage about 50 lakh voters. However, global trends suggest that expatriate voter turnout generally ranges between 20 and 22 percent.
Cost breakdown: Tk 700 per voter
To facilitate expatriate voting, the EC has undertaken various initiatives. Since these individuals will vote online after registration, a new mobile application called “Postal Ballot BD” is under development. The project is budgeted at Tk 48 crore. Including other expenses, the total estimated cost stands at Tk 400 crore, or roughly Tk 700 per voter.
Secretary Akhtar Ahmed noted that this cost covers ballot paper printing, postal delivery to and from expatriates, and other logistical requirements. Election Commissioner Abul Fazl Md. Sanaullah added that the cost per 100,000 voters would amount to around Tk 7 crore. The technology and app development project alone accounts for Tk 48 crore.
Expatriate voter registration and voting process
The EC aims to launch the voter registration app by November. Following this, a promotional campaign will encourage expatriates to register using their NID numbers, current addresses, and mobile numbers via the app.
Registered voters will be included in a separate expatriate voter list for each constituency. Once the election schedule is announced, postal ballots will be printed based on this list. These ballots will only contain the election symbols of political parties—no candidate names—because printing ballots with names before finalising nominations would be premature. Furthermore, late changes due to legal rulings could disrupt the printing timeline. Ballots will be printed without names and dispatched to expatriates via postal mail.
Once nominations are finalised, expatriates who have registered will receive a text message directing them to view the list of final candidates online and cast their vote for the preferred candidate’s symbol. Voters will then send their completed ballots back via mail.
Secretary Akhtar Ahmed explained that, according to the postal department, sending and receiving a letter to the most distant countries takes up to 28 days. Therefore, expatriates will vote before domestic voters, and the EC will conduct extensive campaigns both at home and abroad to raise awareness. Only those with NIDs will be eligible to participate, as registration without an NID will not be allowed.
Where and when votes to be counted
Expatriate voters will cast their ballots at least 20 days before the general election. Each registered voter will receive a packet containing a ballot paper and two envelopes—one addressed to the returning officer of their constituency. After voting, the ballot will be sealed and mailed back. These ballots will be stored in the district treasury and counted on election day along with domestic ballots.
Akhtar Ahmed reiterated that while expatriates will vote early, the ballots will remain sealed until the national counting begins.
Following long-standing demands by expatriates, the head of the interim government addressed the nation, pledging to enable expatriate voting. The EC began preparations accordingly and held consultations with political parties. Among the three voting method options, the political parties preferred postal ballots. As a result, the EC is moving forward with a tech-based postal ballot system. In addition to expatriates, 71 prison inmates and government officials involved in conducting the election will also be allowed to vote under this system.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin Ahmed has already declared that the 13th parliamentary election will include this system, at least on a trial or limited scale. Consequently, the voter registration process for expatriates is being expedited.
Currently, the EC conducts voter registration and NID issuance operations at 17 embassies in 10 countries: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Italy, Kuwait, Qatar, Malaysia, Australia, Canada, and Japan. The initiative is expected to expand soon to the United States and at least four more countries.
How expatriates become registered voters
To register as a voter from abroad, expatriates must submit a completed online application (Form 2(Ka), a valid or expired Bangladeshi passport, certification by three NID-holding Bangladeshi citizens, online birth registration, and a passport-sized color photograph to the designated registration desk at the relevant embassy.
Additionally, citizens from 56 special upazilas/thanas (Chattogram region) must submit a “special information form,” educational certificates, parents’ NIDs, death certificates (if applicable), driving license or TIN (if applicable), dual citizenship certificates (for specific countries), marriage certificates, spouses’ NIDs (if applicable), citizenship certificates issued by councillors, chairmen, mayors, or CEOs, and utility bill copies for addresses in the voter area. Renters must also submit rental agreements and no-objection letters from landlords.
Non-mandatory documents that expatriates cannot submit at the embassy may be submitted by a relative in Bangladesh to the relevant upazila office. If the submitted information is verified successfully, the applicant will be registered as a voter.
According to sources, the Election Commission (EC) of Bangladesh has so far received approximately 55,000 applications from expatriates across 10 countries. Among them, more than 30,000 individuals have successfully completed their voter registration by submitting fingerprints for biometric verification.
Director General of the EC’s NID wing, ASM Humayun Kabir, said that the commission is placing the highest importance on securing voting rights for expatriates. At present, registration efforts are ongoing in 10 countries. He added that similar activities will be launched soon in the United States and several other nations.
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