Habibur Rahman

DHAKA, Jan 9, 2026 (BSS) – About 15.33 lakh voters have registered using the 'Postal Vote BD' app to vote through postal ballots in the 13th parliamentary elections and referendum scheduled for February 12.

The postal ballots have already been sent to these registered voters. The Election Commission (EC) expects that more than 90 percent of the registered expatriate voters will vote this time.

In addition, around 7.61 lakh have registered in the 'in-country postal vote' category. Postal ballots will start being sent to them within the next few days.

Postal voting can have a major impact on the election results, the EC officials said.

According to them, in the constituencies where more than 5,000 postal votes will be cast, these votes can be vital in determining the polls result.

According to the EC’s data, more than 4,000 postal votes will be cast in 181 constituencies. Of those, the number of registered voters in 18 constituencies is more than 10,000. More than 9,000 voters have registered in 9 constituencies each, more than 8,000 in 10 constituencies, more than 7,000 in 11 constituencies, and more than 6,000 in 21 constituencies.

In addition, more than 5,000 voters have registered each in 46 constituencies, while more than 4,000 in 66 constituencies. In total, more than 5,000 postal votes will be cast each in 116 constituencies, which can play an important role in determining the election results.

Constituency and district-wise statistics

In constituency-wise registration, Feni-3 constituency is at the top, with 16,093 postal voters registered, followed by Chattogram-15 with 14,301 voters.

Meanwhile, Cumilla ranked first in district-wise registration. There are 112,090 voters registered there, while 108,755 voters in Dhaka and 95,297 voters in Chattogram for postal voting.

Salim Ahmad Khan, team leader of the Out-of-Country Voting System and Implementation (OCV-SDI) project, told BSS that more than 16,000 voters have registered in Feni-3 constituency. “Even 5,000 votes can be a big factor in determining the election results. This is the first postal vote in the country's history and we have received a huge response,” he said.

“Now it is a matter of seeing how much is returned after sending the ballots. However, we are optimistic that more than 90 percent of voters will vote through postal ballots," he added.

Salim Ahmad said it will not be possible to send ballots to about 3,000 expatriates as they did not provide their correct addresses.

“Ballots are being sent to the rest quickly. For voters within the country, the ballots will be sent after the allocation of symbols on January 21.”

He said it may take a total of seven days to send and return the ballots for postal voting within the country.

Confidentiality and vigilance

It is the responsibility of the voters to maintain the confidentiality of the postal ballots. 

Salim Ahmad warned that if anyone violates the rules, his or her National Identity Card (NID) may be blocked.

Voting rules

According to the EC circular, all symbols will be printed on the postal ballot papers and there will be a blank space next to the symbol. Voters will read the instructions before exercising their right to vote and sign the declaration form by writing the serial number of the ballots, their name, and NID number. The ballot will not be valid without the declaration form.

Illiterate or disabled persons can fill and attest the relevant part of ‘Form-8’ with the help of another valid voter.

After the allocation of symbols is completed, voters can log in to the 'Postal Vote BD' app and see the list of candidates for their constituency. There, they will vote by ticking or crossing the blank space next to the symbol on the ballot.

There will be video tutorials or digital content on the app to know more about postal voting.

After voting, the ballot should be sealed in a small envelope. Then, the small envelope and the signed declaration should be sealed in a large envelope addressed to the Returning Officer and sent by post. The envelope will be closed by removing the self-adhesive tape on both the envelopes.

The voters will not have to pay any postage or cost for sending this envelope, it will be borne by the government.

Counting and Observation

All ballots received till the counting of postal votes starts will be brought under counting. Voters will be able to track the location of their ballots through the app. After receiving the ballots, the Returning Officers will keep a record by scanning the QR code and will generate and sign ‘Form-12’ from the software.

During the vote counting, the Returning Officers will first check the declaration. If there is no signature, it will be rejected. There will be a separate room in the office of the Returning Officers for counting and candidates or their representatives, media personnel and observers will be allowed to be present there. The Returning Officers will be able to log in to the software and see the overall picture of the postal votes.