Total 5,600 Postal Ballots Returned from 2 Countries Due to Address Issues

A total of 5,600 postal ballots have been returned from Malaysia and Italy due to voters’ addresses being untraceable. Of these, 4,000 ballots were returned from Malaysia and 1,600 from Italy.

The information was disclosed on Monday by Election Commissioner Brigadier General (Retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah during a training programme for presiding officers at the Election Commission building in Agargaon, Dhaka.

Sanaullah said the ballots could not be delivered to the concerned voters as their correct addresses were unavailable in the respective countries.

He added that, due to face detection technology, there is no possibility of one person casting a vote on behalf of another through the postal ballot system. He urged people not to be misled by misinformation circulating on social media. At this time, he also said on the postal ballots there were 39 electoral symbols which fell within the fold.

It is worth noting that, for the first time, the Election Commission has introduced an IT-supported postal ballot system to ensure voting rights for expatriate voters, election officials and staff engaged in polling duties, as well as individuals in legal custody. Under this system, 15.33 lakh voters have registered to vote.

According to the revised election schedule, the deadline for withdrawal of candidacy is January 20. Returning officers will publish the final list of candidates and allocate symbols on January 21. Election campaigning will begin on January 22 and may continue until 7:30 am on February 10. Polling will take place on February 12 from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm.