Voter list update process begins tomorrow
Friday, 24 July 2015
The Election Commi-ssion (EC) will start the countrywide voter list update process tomorrow (Saturday), reports UNB.
Chief Election Commi-ssioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad will open the three-phase data collection for updating the country's voter list at 11:00 am at Shilpakala Academy in Narsingdi town, said EC director (public relations) of the Election Commission SM Azaduzzaman on Thursday.
Four election commissioners Abdul Mobarak, Abu Hafiz, Zabed Ali and Shah Nawaz and EC secretary Sirazul Islam will be present at the inauguration programme, he added.
The EC will collect data of Bangladesh citizens born on or before January 1, 2000 during the door-to-door data collection from July 25 to September 22 this year.
Of them, only those who were born on or before January 1, 1998 will be registered as voters in 2016, while the remaining nationals in 2017 and 2018.
With 2.5 per cent growth of the country's existing 96.2 million (9.62 crore) voters, the commission estimates, some 2.4 million (24 lakh) fresh voters will come out in 2016, and 4.8 million (48 lakh) more in 2017 and 2018 following the data collection.
Enumerators will collect data in 189 upazilas/thana from July 25 to August 9 in the first phase, while 184 upazilas/thana from August 16 to 30 in the second phase and 141 upazilas/thana from September 7 to 22 in the third phase.
If any possible voter wants to be registered, s/he needs to have birth certificate, land deed (if any), education certificate (if any), receipt of house rent or copies of utility bills, passport (if any), NID number of father or mother or spouse, EC officials said.
Photographs and fingerprints of the nationals born on or before January 1, 1998 will be taken in three phases from August 11 to October 20 through 5,400 possible registration centres across the country.
But photographs and fingerprints of the remaining citizens will be taken in also three phases from October 22 to February
10 next.
The EC will make the draft updated voter list public on January 2 next to receive complaints regarding the update.
After disposing of complaints, the commission will publish final updated voter list on January 31 next.
According to section 11 of the Voter List Act 2009, the EC shall update the countrywide electoral rolls during January 2-31 every year.