Over the last nine months, 42,000 expatriate voters have submitted online applications for registration, according to a report from the National Identity Card (NID) branch of the Election Commission (EC).
Currently, voter registration activities are being carried out through embassies in seven countries: the United Arab Emirates, Italy, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Malaysia.
Applicants are required to apply online and then visit the embassy to have their photo taken for registration.
The highest number of applications have been received from the United Arab Emirates.
It is reported that a total of 42,269 applications have been received from the seven countries. Of these, 3,401 applications have been rejected during the verification process. The investigation process is ongoing for 20,184 applications at the Upazila Election Office. After the investigation, 17,607 applications have been approved, and 457 applications are still awaiting approval.
Fingerprints and photos have been taken from 22,128 individuals at the relevant embassies.
The most applications came from the United Arab Emirates with 18,589, while the least came from Malaysia with 784 applications.
These applications have been received since May of 2024.
The Election Commission, in collaboration with the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare, the Bureau of Manpower, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA), and other organizations, has collected information showing that the largest number of Bangladeshi expatriates are in 40 countries. The activities are being focused on these countries.
According to the most recent update, the total number of voters in the country now stands at 123,732,274.
Bd-pratidin English/ Afia
