Voter numbers approach 128.8m as EC finalises electoral roll

Bangla Press Desk: The Election Commission (EC) has finalised its updated voter list ahead of local government elections, with Bangladesh’s total voter count now standing at 128.78 million.

EC Secretary Akhter Ahmed briefed reporters at the Election Building on Monday as the updated list was published, saying 454,403 new voters had been added since the last count, reports bdnews24.com.

"We will move forward with local government elections based on this voter list. Only those who became voters by the 31st of July will be eligible to vote," he said.

Under the new list, the country has 65.51 million male voters, 63.27 million female voters and 1,267 third-gender voters.

The voter list published on May 14 had put the total at 128.32 million.

Following that, the EC allowed new voter registration until Jul 31 ahead of the local government elections.

The EC published a draft of the updated list on Aug 9.

After receiving and settling claims, objections and correction requests on the draft, the EC completed the process and published the final list on Aug 31.

Polling Stations Finalised

The EC secretary said it has also finalised a list of likely polling stations for the local government elections.

Under EC guidelines, the plan is to set up one polling station for roughly every 2,000 voters.

Combining union councils, Upazila, municipality and city corporation elections, the EC had earlier said the country could see 2,000 to 3,000 more polling stations than during the national election.

The commission will preserve and finalise the list of polling stations 25 days ahead of each tier of local government elections and publish it in a gazette.

Poll Preparations

Among the five tiers of local government elections, upcoming polls include 13 city corporations, 330 municipalities, around 500 Upazilas, 61 district councils and more than 4,500 union councils across various posts.

Under the EC's initial plan, this phase of local government elections is likely to begin with union council polls.

A schedule typically allows around two months for elections after being announced.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin said on Thursday that a September-October schedule announcement would push the elections into next year.

"If we announce the schedule in September, hopefully, some elections could happen by the end of this year, with others carrying into next year," he said.

UNDP to Support Elections

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Bangladesh Steven Rodriques expressed hope that the forthcoming local government elections would be “peaceful, free and fair”.

He spoke after meeting the CEC and other commissioners at the Election Building on Monday, describing the talks as "very cordial and productive" and congratulating the EC on completing the 13th parliamentary polls.

The meeting discussed cooperation between UNDP and the EC, along with the commission's preparations for the upcoming local polls.

Rodriques said the EC had led the conduct and management of the election, with UNDP, other donor agencies and UN bodies such as UN Women, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) providing support in organising it.

He said the local government elections could be held smoothly with continued cooperation from stakeholders.