The Election Commission has issued a strict set of nine conditions under which postal ballots for the upcoming parliamentary election and referendum will be declared invalid, warning that any ballot missing a voter declaration or signature will be automatically cancelled. The directive comes at a time of unprecedented participation from expatriate voters, with more than 21,000 completed postal ballots already arriving in Bangladesh.
In a letter to all returning officers, EC Deputy Secretary Mohammad Monir Hossain instructed that valid postal ballots must be counted separately candidate‑wise for the parliamentary polls and Yes/No‑wise for the referendum. He emphasised that presiding officers must reject any ballot that fails to meet the required criteria.
According to the guidelines, a postal ballot will be invalid if the declaration form is missing, if the voter’s signature is absent, if more than one symbol is marked, if no symbol is marked, or if the mark is unclear and makes the voter’s intention impossible to determine. For Overseas Citizens of Bangladesh (OCV), any mark placed on a symbol not belonging to a contesting candidate in that constituency will also void the ballot. Additionally, any mark other than a tick or cross will render the ballot invalid.
The EC has instructed that all cancelled postal ballots from both the national election and the referendum must be stored together in a designated envelope during counting, with the total number clearly recorded. This figure must also be entered into the results sheet before final tallies are prepared.
The Commission further clarified that postal ballots received after vote counting begins in any constituency will not be included. If a court order changes the list of candidates in a constituency, postal ballots already issued for that seat will not need to be counted.
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