Bangladeshi expatriates will now be able to register as voters and obtain a National Identity Card (NID) even without holding a Bangladeshi passport.
The Election Commission (EC) has made this groundbreaking decision to make voter registration more inclusive for overseas Bangladeshis.
The EC’s NID Wing on Wednesday issued a revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), signed by Director Khan Abi Shahanur Khan.
The SOP states that expatriates can register for voter ID and NID through alternative identity verification methods if they do not have a valid passport.
According to the new rules, in the absence of a passport, applicants must submit a citizenship certification signed by any three NID-holding expatriates from the country.
In addition, required supporting documents such as a birth certificate, educational certificates, nationality certificate, or other valid documents must be provided to establish identity and eligibility.
The EC is currently working through Bangladesh missions in nine countries with 16 registration stations, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Italy, Kuwait, Qatar, Malaysia, Australia, and Canada.
So far, around 50,000 applications have been submitted from these countries, according to EC officials.
If an applicant is unable to appear in person to submit the documents, they may authorise a representative in Bangladesh to submit them to the registration officer on their behalf.
