EC Starts Expatriate Voter Registration Process in US and Five Countries

The Election Commission (EC) of Bangladesh has initiated preliminary steps to start voter registration and National Identity Card (NID) services for expatriate Bangladeshis in five new countries, including the United States. On Tuesday, ASM Humayun Kabir, Director General of the National Identity Registration Division, shared this update with the media.

He stated, “We have received consent from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to begin voter registration in five new countries, including the USA. After receiving approval, we have started taking necessary preparatory steps. We are preparing our manpower and resources, and we’ll provide necessary training to the assigned officials. This process is being rolled out in phases.”

Initially, the EC had permission to operate only in Los Angeles. But now they have received approval to expand to other locations in the United States, including Washington, D.C., and New York. “New York has shown the most interest, as it hosts the largest Bangladeshi community,” Mr. Kabir added.

Besides the USA, the other four countries where the new registration drive will begin are Oman, Maldives, Jordan, and South Africa.

According to the EC, so far, 48,080 expatriate Bangladeshis have applied for voter registration across nine countries. Among them, biometric data of 29,646 individuals have been collected, and 17,367 have already been approved as registered voters.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs formally granted this new round of approvals through a letter issued on July 9, signed by Senior Assistant Secretary Shakera Ahmed. The letter confirmed that the EC may proceed with NID and voter registration services in the approved countries.

Previously, the EC had launched similar activities in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Italy, UK, Kuwait, Qatar, Malaysia, Australia, and Canada. The Commission aims to extend this service to 40 countries in total.

Among the remaining 31 countries awaiting approval are Bahrain, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Egypt, Brunei, Mauritius, Iraq, Greece, Spain, Germany, Japan, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Brazil, China, Indonesia, New Zealand, Russia, Turkey, and Cyprus.

The EC has confirmed that it is fully prepared to begin operations in these countries as soon as it receives the required permissions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.