BNP flags bulk deliveries of postal ballots
The Election Commission’s first-ever initiative to digitally register Bangladeshi expatriates and allow them to vote through postal ballots has sparked controversy, with the BNP raising concerns over the process.
Over the past three days, two BNP delegations met Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin to express reservations about how the initiative is being carried out.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. After one such meeting, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said the party has “serious concerns” and questioned the role of officials overseeing the process.
Referring to social media videos, he alleged that batches of 200–300 ballots were being delivered to a single address, even though each postal ballot should have been sent individually to the designated voter.
He also claimed that the process seemed to favour a particular party and demanded clarification on how ballots are being prepared, dispatched, and collected abroad.
On Tuesday, a video showing 160 postal ballot envelopes in a room in Bahrain went viral. It was recorded while the envelopes were being sorted for distribution.
Asked about the incident, EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said the Bangladeshi ambassador in Bahrain was investigating and insisted that none of the envelopes had been opened. Bahrain postal authorities are also reviewing whether proper procedures were followed in delivering the ballots, he added.
In a press release, the EC explained that on January 11, the Bahrain postal service contacted several expatriate voters to deliver the ballots. As they were at work, they requested postal officials hand over the envelopes to a colleague living in the same area.
Later, 129 undelivered envelopes were returned to the embassy, which, the EC said, would be delivered individually to the designated voters by the Bahrain postal service.
The commission stressed that ballot secrecy was not compromised.
Meanwhile, BNP spokesperson Mahdi Amin alleged that hundreds of ballots in Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia were delivered to workers linked to a particular party, reminding that organised voting is illegal.
He also claimed that ballots are not being delivered to the designated voters.
Mahdi also criticised the ballot design, noting that the BNP’s symbol was placed at the bottom, while rival symbols appeared in more easily identifiable positions.
Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud told The Daily Star that the commission had taken note of the BNP’s complaints. He said the symbols on the ballot were arranged alphabetically and that the matter would be reviewed.
Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad called the complaints “lame excuses.”
He also denied allegations that party activists abroad were collecting ballots, noting that Bahraini and Bangladeshi law prohibit party branches overseas.
POSTAL BALLOTING
On November 18, the EC launched the “Postal Vote BD” app, allowing non-resident Bangladeshis in around 140 countries to register and vote.
The CEC said about 1.3 crore Bangladeshis live abroad and described the initiative as a step toward ending their disenfranchisement.
Between November 19 and January 5, a total of 767,141 expatriates from 121 countries registered digitally, including 204,836 women.
Saudi Arabia recorded the highest number of registrations with 239,186 voters, followed by Malaysia (84,293) and Qatar (76,139).
At the constituency level, Feni-3 topped the list with 16,124 registered expatriate voters, followed by Chattogram-15 (14,316) and Cumilla-10 (14,007).
Postal ballots for the national election and constitutional referendum were dispatched by January 8.
Ballot papers contain 118 symbols representing registered political parties and independent candidates. The Awami League’s boat symbol does not appear, as the party’s registration remains suspended. A “No” vote option is also included.
Expatriate voters will be able to mark their choice after symbol allocation on January 21.
Ballots must reach returning officers by 4:30pm on polling day to be counted. EC officials said the process of dispatching and returning ballots takes between 16 and 28 days, depending on the country.
On January 4, the EC warned voters against sharing photos or videos of postal ballots on social media, saying violators could face legal action, including the blocking of their National Identity Cards.
The commission said ballot secrecy is both a constitutional right and a voter’s responsibility.
While speaking to reporters, EC Secretary Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah yesterday insisted that no irregularities had occurred regarding the distribution of postal ballots.
He said the EC has communicated with all Bangladeshi embassies and warned that “if even the slightest irregularity occurs with postal ballots, no one will be spared.”
To tighten oversight, Sanaullah said Bahrain’s postal authorities will now hand over ballots only after checking the recipient’s CPR (Bahrain’s identity card), while in Oman, ballots will be delivered only after verifying the recipient’s passport.
He also noted that in the Middle East and Malaysia, many expatriate voters live at the same address.
Comments