CEC aims to introduce limited-scale expat voting
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin has said that efforts are underway to include expatriates in the voting process, even if on a limited scale.
“Many countries around the world have out-of-country voting. However, some nations have attempted but failed to implement it due to various challenges. Even neighbouring India has not yet introduced it. We want to launch it — at least to begin on a limited scale,” he said.
The CEC made these remarks on Tuesday (April 29) at the Election Commission (EC) auditorium during a seminar on expatriate Bangladeshis’ voting rights, organised with various stakeholders.
Highlighting the Commission’s commitment to ensuring voting rights for expatriates in upcoming elections, he said, “This is our promise. It is also a demand from many. We have worked on it. After reviewing the country’s socioeconomic realities and education levels, we will make a final decision. Without political support, nothing can be implemented. We must choose a method that maintains public trust and ensures low-cost implementation. We aim to introduce expatriate voting in the next election.”
Election Commissioner Brigadier General (Retd) Abul Fazal Mohammad Sanaullah noted that in the history of Bangladesh’s elections, expatriate voters have never been able to cast their ballots.
He stated that expatriates account for about 10 percent of the country’s total voters and emphasized, “Our goal is to bring expatriate voters into the voting system.”
Presenting the keynote paper, Sanaullah said, “We need the participation of expatriate voters. Voting without the opinions of 10 percent of voters results in a somewhat fragmented public mandate.”
He further noted that expatriates from 115 out of 178 countries have voting rights in their home elections, and in 20 percent of those countries, expatriate voter turnout is higher than that of domestic voters. In most cases, they are allowed to vote only in national elections.
He also outlined the preparations underway to establish a voting system for expatriates.
Senior Secretary to the EC, Akhtar Ahmed, moderated the seminar, which was attended by top EC officials and leaders from various political parties.
Speaking at the event, Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said the voter turnout rate is affected when expatriates are unable to vote. “The Election Commission is determined to organise free, fair, and credible elections. We aim for an election celebrated like a festival, and we want to include expatriates in this festive spirit,” he said.
