Election Commission has received 4 lakh 22 thousand 960 postal ballots from expatriate voters registered through Postal Vote BD app for upcoming 13th national parliament election and referendum.

Salim Ahmad Khan, team leader of OCV-SDI project on expatriate voter registration, shared the update with news agency BSS on Saturday morning.

Commission sent 7 lakh 66 thousand 862 ballots to expatriates registered through the app as of 10:15 am today. Among them, 5 lakh 27 thousand 33 expatriates received their ballots and 4 lakh 94 thousand 185 have completed voting.

Furthermore, 4 lakh 68 thousand 91 expatriate voters submitted their ballots to post offices or postal departments in respective countries. Returning officers have collected 2 lakh 25 thousand 168 ballots so far.

Election Commission also began sending postal ballots to voters staying within Bangladesh under in-country postal voting system. Commission dispatched 6 lakh 94 thousand 146 ballots to registered domestic voters.

According to latest EC data, 3 lakh 81 thousand 7 voters inside Bangladesh received their ballots by 10:15 am Saturday. Among them, 3 lakh 21 thousand 695 cast their votes and 2 lakh 76 thousand 272 submitted ballots to post offices or mailboxes. Returning officers collected 83 thousand 942 ballots from domestic voters.

Salim Ahmad Khan said 15 lakh 33 thousand 684 voters registered on Postal Vote BD app for upcoming 13th national parliament election and referendum, combining both domestic and expatriate voters.

System allows expatriates to participate in national elections through postal voting mechanism for first time in large numbers. Process involves receiving ballots, casting votes and returning them through international postal services to respective returning officers in Bangladesh.