The Election Commission has suspended corrections for certain NID fields while the voter list is being finalised, and the deadline for out-of-country voting registration has been extended by one week till 25 December.
At a briefing on Monday at the Nirbachan Bhaban in Agargaon, commission secretary Akhtar Ahmed said that National ID corrections were currently frozen for seven fields, including name, father’s name, mother’s name, profession, date of birth, voter address, and photograph.
He explained that once the voter list was finalised, the commission would decide whether corrections in these fields could be reopened and considered at a later date.
He said that corrections were still allowed for spouse’s name, marital status, educational qualifications, religion, disability status and type, and telephone number.
He emphasised the importance of correcting telephone numbers, noting that many people faced difficulties with online tax return submissions when the number on their NID was not responsive.
New NID registration activities remain operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without any constraint.
However, the inclusion in the current voter list is strictly limited to individuals who have attained the age of 18 and completed registration by 31 October 2025.
Akhtar clarified that anyone turning 18 after this date, even by a single day, cannot be included, as a specific cut-off must be observed.
The deadline for out-of-country voting registration has been extended by one week to December 25 at midnight Bangladesh standard time, following requests from expatriates, he said.
The EC secretary said that registration for the in-country postal vote would begin fifteen days after the announcement of the election schedule.
Asked about the suspension of services, Akhtar explained that it was primarily intended to avoid synchronisation problems with the NID database caused by changes in names and photographs, ensuring that the process remained seamless.
Regarding the registration of new political parties, he said that field-level investigation reports were currently being compiled and that updates would be provided once the information became available.
