The Election Commission (EC) has distributed smart National Identity (NID) cards to 7 crore 36 lakh 541 citizens across Bangladesh, officials said on Wednesday.
According to the EC's National Identity Registration Wing, a total of 8 crore 75 lakh 72 thousand 998 smart cards had been sent to regional offices across the country until May. Of those, 7 crore 36 lakh 541 cards have already been distributed, while another 1 crore 39 lakh 2 thousand 457 cards are awaiting distribution.
The overall smart card distribution rate currently stands at 84.04 percent.
EC officials said the distribution process has been completed in all upazilas of Dhaka, Narayanganj, Naogaon, Gaibandha, Panchagarh, Gopalganj, Chuadanga, Kushtia, Magura, Meherpur, Narail, Jhenaidah, Barguna, Jhalakathi and Pirojpur districts.
However, smart card distribution has yet to begin in 115 of the country's 404 electoral police stations/upazilas.
The EC's database currently contains the records of 12 crore 83 lakh 23 thousand 240 citizens. Of them, 6 crore 52 lakh 12 thousand 731 are male voters, 6 crore 31 lakh 9 thousand 266 are female voters, while 1,243 are registered as transgender.
Despite the progress, around 5.5 crore registered voters are still awaiting their smart NID cards.
Bd-Pratidin English/ AM
