Dhaka, Nov 28 (V7N) – Voter registration for Bangladeshi expatriates in seven countries, including Saudi Arabia, has been temporarily suspended, but the Election Commission (EC) expects the process to resume by Friday morning. The suspension occurred due to incorrect or incomplete address details in the newly launched ‘Postal Vote BD’ app, the first platform of its kind for overseas voters.

Brigadier General (Retd.) Salim Ahmad Khan, team leader of the EC’s Out-of-Country Voting System and Implementation (OCV–SDI) project, told reporters on Thursday that many expatriate voters were unable to enter addresses correctly. “To ensure ballots reach voters, addresses must be in English and include a complete postal code. Many entries in mandatory fields were incorrect or incomplete. Therefore, registration was temporarily paused. We will inform expatriates through embassies and other channels to correct their addresses,” he said.

Khan added that the suspension allows expatriate voters to register on Friday, a holiday in most countries. Meetings with embassies from the seven countries were held to finalize a detailed roadmap. Voters who have already registered will have the option to update their addresses within the app.

EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed confirmed that expatriate voter registration will continue until December 18, providing a 21-day window to ensure no voter is left out. Preparations for ballot printing and delivery through the postal service will follow.

As of Thursday evening, over 200,000 expatriate voters had downloaded the app, with 56,399 completing registration. Registration was temporarily halted in Bahrain, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE due to address input issues.

For the first time in Bangladesh’s electoral history, overseas citizens will be able to vote via postal ballots in the 13th national parliamentary elections and referendum. Once registration and address verification are complete, ballots will be delivered to voters abroad.

END/RKB/SMA/