EC gets approval to begin voter registration in five countries
The Election Commission (EC) has received approval to initiate the voter registration process and issue national identity cards (NIDs) in five countries including the United States.
The other four countries are-Maldives, Jordan, South Africa and Oman.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs granted the approval through an official consent letter sent to the EC on Wednesday.
The letter, signed by Senior Assistant Secretary Shakera Ahmed, confirmed that the EC is authorized to begin voter registration and NID issuance in these countries, specifying Los Angeles as the designated location in the United States.
The EC has been requested to take necessary steps to move forward with the implementation of the registration process in the approved countries.
Earlier, on July 2, Md. Abdul Momin Sarkar, Director (Registration and Expatriates) of the Election Commission’s National Identity Registration Division, signed a letter addressed to the Foreign Secretary concerning the “Consent to start the process of registering voters abroad and issuing national identity cards to Bangladeshi citizens living abroad.”
The letter stated that the Election Commission Secretariat has adopted a plan to issue national identity cards to Bangladeshi citizens residing in 40 countries around the world.
With the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' consent, voter registration and NID issuance have already begun in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Italy, the United Kingdom, Kuwait, Qatar, Malaysia, Australia, and Canada.
Among the remaining 31 countries, the United States, Oman, Jordan, South Africa, and the Maldives received consent on Wednesday to begin registering expatriate voters.
The countries still awaiting for consent are Bahrain, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Egypt, Romania, Mauritius, Iraq, Greece, Spain, Germany, Japan, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Brazil, China, Indonesia, New Zealand, Russia, Turkey, and Cyprus.
The letter noted that the Election Commission Secretariat is fully prepared to begin the voter registration process in these countries and has requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide consent on a priority basis, as it has for the other countries.
It also mentioned that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs granted approval for Japan on May 25, and preparations are in place to begin the process there by July 15.
In this context, the letter requested priority consent for the United States, Maldives, Turkey, Jordan, South Africa, Oman, Egypt, and France to start voter registration and NID issuance. The EC Secretariat is prepared to initiate the process in these countries as well.
When contacted, EC National Identity Registration Division Director General ASM Humayun Kabir said, “We (EC) have written to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as we are ready to start voter registration and issuance of national identity cards in eight countries. Work has already been started in this regard.”
According to EC officials, voter registration and NID issuance for expatriates are currently ongoing in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Italy, Kuwait, Qatar, Malaysia, Australia, and Canada.
So far, approximately 47,032 expatriate from these countries have applied for registration. Of them, biometrics for 29,563 individuals have been collected by the mission offices, while 20,451 have been approved for inclusion as voters.
Meanwhile, 3,677 applications have been rejected.