For the First Time, 5,690 Inmates Vote by Postal Ballot in Bangladesh’s National Election

For the first time in the history of Bangladesh’s national parliamentary elections, a total of 5,690 incarcerated voters, including both under-trial detainees and convicted prisoners, are casting their votes through the postal ballot system.

Among them are more than 400 death-row inmates who have been included on the voter list, according to prison authorities.

The Prisons Directorate said that, following directives from the Election Commission (EC), voting through booth arrangements began on Tuesday at the Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj and other prisons across the country. Inmates were allowed to vote from 11:00am to 4:30pm local time. The voting process will continue until February 5 and 6, excluding the government holiday.

Speaking on Wednesday, Jannat-ul Farhad, Assistant Inspector General (AIG–Media) of the Prisons Directorate, said that a total of 5,690 inmates across various prisons have been registered as voters. Among them are over 400 death-row convicts, all of whom are voting through postal ballots.

He added that the death sentences of these inmates have been handed down by courts, but appeals against those verdicts are currently pending, making them eligible to vote under existing legal provisions.

The prison official said inmates were registered for voting through proposals submitted in line with their willingness to vote via the Election Commission’s app. After verification, the EC included 5,690 inmates in the voter list and sent separately sealed postal ballot papers for each registered voter.

In accordance with EC rules, inmates began voting on February 3 by entering designated booths inside the Dhaka Central Jail and other prisons. The voting process will continue on February 5 and 6, excluding the public holiday on February 4.

AIG Jannat-ul Farhad further said that the registered inmate voters include political figures as well as several police officers. A total of 22 political personalities, including former Awami League MPs and ministers currently jailed in cases related to the mass uprising, have been registered as voters. The list also includes five former secretaries and several police officials.

However, former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who is serving as an approver (state witness), chose not to register as a voter, and his name was therefore excluded.