Dhaka [Bangladesh], September 18 (ANI): Bangladesh’s Election Commission has announced that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and several members of her family will not be able to vote in the upcoming national elections scheduled for February next year, local media reported on Thursday.
“The upcoming parliamentary election will allow both in-country and out-of-country voting. Bangladeshis living abroad will have to register online, and a system is currently being developed for this purpose,” said Akhtar Ahmed, Senior Secretary of the Bangladesh Election Commission, on Wednesday.
“Expatriates must register online using their NID number — not a passport — to vote. Those with a blocked NID will be unable to complete online registration, while only those able to register with their NID will have the opportunity to vote,” he added.
According to the daily Jugantor, the EC blocked the National Identity Cards of Sheikh Hasina and 10 of her family members on February 16. Among those affected are her son Sajib Wazed Joy, daughter Saima Wazed Putul, sister Sheikh Rehana, nieces Tulip Rezwana Siddique and Azmina Siddique, and nephew Radwan Mujib Siddique.
When asked whether Hasina could vote from abroad, Ahmed said, “Her NID is blocked. So she will not be able to vote.”
Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh and took refuge in India on August 5 last year after a student-led uprising toppled her government. An interim administration, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, was later formed. Yunus has already announced that the general elections will take place in February 2026.
In August, the Office of the Chief Adviser wrote to the Election Commission, asking it to complete preparations for holding the national polls before the start of Ramadan in February 2026, according to a statement from the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing.
Through this letter, the formal request for the commission to organize free, fair, and peaceful elections of the “expected quality” at the designated time was finalized, the statement said. (ANI)
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