Bangladesh will allow postal voting for the first time in its history in the February 12 national election, the Election Commission announced last month. The Commission has started preparations with international postal agencies to ensure ballots from domestic and overseas voters arrive in time to be counted.
How Bangladesh's Postal Ballot System Will Work
The postal voting process will be conducted through a dedicated digital platform called the Postal Vote BD App. It is designed to streamline registration and voter verification.
Voters must download the app, create a personal profile, and submit verification details, including passport information and a facial photograph. Once approved, ballot papers will be issued to registered voters, who will then mail them via local postal services to their designated constituencies in Bangladesh.
How Votes Are Counted
- Ballots are mailed to registered voters.
- Voters mark their choice and return the ballot by the deadline.
- Election officials verify each ballot for authenticity.
- Verified ballots are kept sealed until counting.
- Votes are tallied manually or electronically.
Postal Voting Registration Timeline
To accommodate the time required for ballot distribution and return, the Bangladesh EC opened registration for postal voting on November 26, 2025. The registration window closed at 11:29 pm on January 5.
Over 1.2 Million Bangladeshis Register For Postal Voting
Over 1.2 million Bangladeshis have registered for postal voting, including residents and expatriates. Fewer than 11,000 applications are still pending. Nearly half of the voters are in Bangladesh, while the rest live abroad.
Saudi Arabia leads with around 2.6 lakh registered voters, followed by the US (29,000) and the UK (28,000). Other countries with significant participation include Qatar, Malaysia, Oman, the UAE, and Kuwait. Minimal registrations were recorded in Colombia, Cameroon, India (297), and Pakistan (29), as per the EC.
How Bangladeshis Voted Earlier
Before the reforms, Bangladeshis primarily voted in person at designated polling stations using paper ballots, a system in place since the country's independence. Small-scale experiments with electronic voting machines (EVMs) were conducted in select constituencies, but they did not replace the traditional paper ballot system.
As a result, overseas Bangladeshis had little to no opportunity to participate in national elections.
