Online Report
The Election Commission (EC) of Bangladesh has received official approval to begin voter registration and issue National Identity Cards (NIDs) in five more countries, including the United States.
The other newly approved countries are Maldives, Jordan, South Africa and Oman.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the approval through an official letter sent to the EC on Wednesday.
Signed by Senior Assistant Secretary Shakera Ahmed, the letter authorizes the EC to carry out the registration process and NID issuance, with Los Angeles designated as operational location in the United States.
The EC has been asked to take necessary steps to begin the implementation of the registration drive in the approved countries.
Previously, on July 2, Md. Abdul Momin Sarkar, Director of the EC’s National Identity Registration Division, sent a letter to Foreign Secretary requesting consent to start registering Bangladeshi expatriates and issuing NIDs abroad.
The EC has developed a comprehensive plan to roll out NID services to Bangladeshi citizens in 40 countries worldwide.
With this latest approval, the EC is now authorized to operate in 14 countries.
Voter registration and NID issuance are already underway in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Italy, the United Kingdom, Kuwait, Qatar, Malaysia, Australia and Canada.
Among the remaining countries on the EC’s list, 21 are still awaiting consent, including Bahrain, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, France, Germany, China and Turkey.
Notably, Japan was granted approval on May 25, with operations set to begin there by July 15.
The EC Secretariat has indicated that it is fully prepared to expand the registration initiative to the newly approved countries and has requested that the Ministry prioritize consent for the remaining nations.
Director General of National Identity Registration Division, ASM Humayun Kabir, confirmed, “We have written to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as we are ready to begin voter registration and NID issuance in eight countries. Preparatory work is already underway.”
According to EC data, more than 47,000 expatriates have applied for registration so far from the countries where the process is active.
Of these, biometric data has been collected from over 29,000 applicants and more than 20,000 have been approved as registered voters.
Around 3,677 applications have been rejected after review.