Dhaka, Bangladesh \u2013<\/strong> Long overlooked in Bangladesh\u2019s electoral system, millions of expatriates \u2013 including migrant workers who underpin the nation\u2019s economy \u2013 will be able to vote in national elections for the first time, as the country\u2019s Election Commission moves to finally ensure their participation in the democratic process.<\/p>\n The Election Commission estimates that about 15 million Bangladeshi expatriates, including migrant workers, live in the Gulf, Europe, the Americas and Southeast Asia \u2013 accounting for more than 10 percent of the country\u2019s total electorate.<\/p>\n To facilitate their participation, the Election Commission will launch postal ballots, supported by an app called Postal Vote BD. This is one of several moves to reform key state institutions, including the electoral, judicial, and legislative systems, by Bangladesh\u2019s interim government, which was formed after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party were toppled in a mass uprising in 2024.<\/p>\n The interim government has scheduled highly anticipated parliamentary elections for February 2026, but experts warn that implementing an overseas voting system will be far from easy. A lot is riding on the first elections since the fall of Hasina\u2019s government: Only four of Bangladesh\u2019s 11 elections since the country\u2019s independence in 1971 have been considered \u201cfree and fair\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe process is like a black box \u2013 if authenticity and transparency are not maintained, the credibility of the entire election could be called into question,\u201d said Badiul Alam Majumdar, chief of the electoral reform commission, in an interview with Al Jazeera. \u201cIt\u2019s a complex task that requires extensive logistical preparation. It won\u2019t be easy, nor can it be implemented in all countries within one election cycle. But you have to start somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n Bangladesh\u2019s constitution has never explicitly barred expatriates from voting. Article 122 requires voters to be citizens of voting age who are registered to vote, but it does not specify a residency requirement. However, a 1982 ordinance added that voters must \u201cordinarily reside\u201d in their constituency.<\/p>\n That ordinance was eventually repealed with the introduction of the Electoral Rolls Act 2009, which came into force in January 2009 and remains the current law. The Act recognises Bangladeshi citizens living abroad as residents of the constituency where they last lived or where their own or ancestral home is located.<\/p>\n However, while expats finally had the right to vote, they did not have the means to do so. No steps were taken to enable expatriates to actually vote.<\/p>\n \u201cPast elections became a farce \u2013 there was no genuine intention to include them,\u201d said Majumdar.<\/p>\n Following Hasina\u2019s removal, the country\u2019s reform commission has considered various methods to enable expatriate voting, ultimately settling on postal ballots supported by a mobile app.<\/p>\n The Postal Vote BD app, scheduled to launch by the first week of November, will allow expats to register and track their ballots.<\/p>\n \u201cVoters will register via the app using their National ID (NID) number, which is linked to the Election Commission\u2019s server to determine their constituency,\u201d Akhtar Ahmed, senior secretary of the Election Commission, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n Postal ballots will then be sent to the registered overseas address in an envelope containing a ballot paper and a pre-addressed envelope to return it by post. The envelopes sent out to voters will bear a QR code, which confirms delivery in the app when scanned by the recipient.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter marking their choice, voters seal the ballot and send it from any post office. A barcode on the return envelope allows them to track its progress. Ballots are sent directly to the local returning officer under arrangements with the Universal Postal Union \u2013 embassies and diplomatic missions are not involved,\u201d Ahmed added.<\/p>\n He dismissed concerns about envelopes being tampered with on their way back to Bangladesh. \u201cOnce the vote is cast and sealed in the envelope, only the returning officer will open it. Any envelope opened or intercepted in transit will be immediately apparent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Yes. When former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina intensified her crackdown on protesters during the July 2024 uprising, Bangladeshi migrant workers around the world launched a remittance boycott campaign in defiance. Remittances are the paycheques earned overseas which Bangladeshi workers send back to their families at home \u2013 these form a large part of Bangladesh\u2019s economy. In the financial year following Hasina\u2019s removal, expats and migrant workers sent a record $30bn back to Bangladesh.<\/p>\n Bangladeshi workers also risked arrest to join rallies throughout Gulf countries in 2024 to condemn Hasina\u2019s actions. More than 100 workers were detained in the United Arab Emirates, many of whom were later released after the newly installed interim government intervened.<\/p>\n As a result of their actions, debates about the fair treatment and voting rights of migrant workers have become central to discussions among interim government policymakers over reforms.<\/p>\n \u201cOur migrant workers are the nation\u2019s remittance warriors \u2013 it is their right to vote. They played a vital role in ousting the autocrat, so securing their voting rights is essential,\u201d Majumdar said.<\/p>\n \u201cExpatriate voters make up more than 10 percent of the electorate, and in some constituencies they account for nearly a fifth of total voters. In a first-past-the-post system, that share can tip close races,\u201d said Khaled Saifullah, joint convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP), founded by the students who led the uprising against Hasina last year.<\/p>\n He emphasised that the significance goes beyond numbers. The diaspora tends to be politically aware, financially stable and closely connected to their home districts. Their participation can influence families and communities back home, shaping both turnout and public opinion.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, the impact of expatriate voting may be felt not only in the ballot count but also in the overall mood and momentum of the election,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Denied the right to vote for decades, Bangladeshi expatriates\u2019 newfound suffrage ushers the country\u2019s electoral landscape into uncharted territory. For political parties, it opens a new campaigning frontier with millions of potential voters across the Middle East, Malaysia and Europe.<\/p>\n The greatest challenge for political parties will be engaging with this vast overseas electorate.<\/p>\n Misinformation and disinformation on social media also pose challenges. However, politicians like Saifullah believe that when armed with facts, expatriates, who tend to be very active online and are well-informed, demonstrate a good ability to counter falsehoods themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cIn that sense, they are not merely potential victims of misinformation \u2013 they are also our strongest line of defence against it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Tahsin Shakil, a Bangladeshi migrant worker living in the Gulf, said he hoped the mistreatment many migrant workers face at airports and the dismissive attitude of embassies to problems they encounter where they live would be addressed.<\/p>\n He described how workers are often subjected to long interrogations at the airports, arbitrary baggage checks, and rude behaviour by airport officials, while embassies frequently ignore their complaints or delay issuing essential documents such as passports and work attestations.<\/p>\n \u201cThe country\u2019s economy depends on us, but we are treated like third-class citizens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n This is what the main contenders in the upcoming election are saying about their concerns:<\/p>\n Saifullah, of the student-led NCP, said expats should no longer be viewed solely in terms of the value of the remittances they send home. \u201cOur manifesto recognises them as partners in rebuilding the state and ambassadors of Bangladesh abroad,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n His party\u2019s manifesto pledges to secure expatriate voting rights, end harassment at embassies and airports, and provide emergency support for citizens in distress overseas.<\/p>\n It also promises digital access to public services, support for returnees, and a framework for direct expatriate participation in policymaking \u2013 moving beyond seeing expatriates as only remittance senders to recognising them as key partners in national development.<\/p>\n \u201cOur aim is simple: distance should not mean disenfranchisement,\u201d Saifullah added.<\/p>\n Saimum Parvez, a member of the BNP and special assistant on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said the party would prioritise making conditions better for migrant workers overseas. \u201cThe BNP envisions that every Bangladeshi embassy around the world will take on greater responsibility for the welfare of expatriates, ensuring they are no longer subjected to harassment, while also working to create jobs and strengthen bilateral trade,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He added that the BNP is already closely involved with diaspora communities. \u201cThe BNP has diaspora committees across the world. I don\u2019t think it will be difficult for the BNP to reach these voters though this established network worldwide.<\/p>\n \u201cThe BNP is now highly focused on policy-based politics, aiming to improve people\u2019s lives. We have already presented policies on agriculture, employment, and education, and in the coming months, we will detail how these will transform the lives of ordinary citizens. For that reason, I believe the diaspora community will vote for the BNP.\u201d<\/p>\n Shishir Manir, a Supreme Court lawyer and MP candidate for Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, also claimed the concerns of expats were central to the party\u2019s policies. He told Al Jazeera: \u201cJamaat was the first party to raise the issue of facilitating expatriate voters. I filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a directive for the Election Commission to take effective measures to enable expatriate voting, and the court accepted it.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring my recent visits to the UK and the Gulf, I found Bangladeshi expatriates highly motivated to vote for Jamaat. We are proposing a one-stop service centre for expatriates who face complex land and criminal cases. They want smoother services, and we intend to provide that.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also aim to create a conducive environment that encourages expatriates to invest back home. Many of them have expressed concern over the mismanagement and mistreatment surrounding baggage handling at Dhaka airport \u2013 we will address these issues as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Dhaka, Bangladesh \u2013 Long overlooked in Bangladesh\u2019s electoral system, millions of expatriates \u2013 including migrant workers who underpin the nation\u2019s economy \u2013 will be able to vote in national elections for the first time, as the country\u2019s Election Commission moves to finally ensure their participation in the democratic process. The Election Commission estimates that about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":304,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explained"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Why couldn\u2019t Bangladeshi expatriates vote before?<\/h2>\n
How will expat voting work?<\/h2>\n
Did Bangladeshi workers overseas support the 2024 uprising?<\/h2>\n
![\"Bangladesh\"](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-08-05T090335Z_1988958_RC2W0GALQ13X_RTRMADP_3_BANGLADESH-POLITICS-1761562528.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C514&quality=80\")
Could the expat vote tip the balance in Bangladesh\u2019s upcoming election?<\/h2>\n
![\"Bangladesh](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2235553773-1761553678.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C513&quality=80\")
What do migrant workers want \u2013 and what are politicians offering them?<\/h2>\n
National Citizenship Party (NCP)<\/h3>\n
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)<\/h3>\n
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"