DHAKA, July 15, 2025 (BSS) - The Election Commission (EC) has begun voter registration process and National Identity Card (NID) issuance for Bangladeshi expatriates in the United States (US), Oman, Maldives, Jordan and South Africa, following the approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A S M Humayun Kabir, Director General of the EC's National Identity Registration Division, confirmed the matter.

Following the approval, we have already initiated the preliminary steps necessary to launch this initiative in those countries, Humayun Kabir said, adding that the process require manpower and essential equipment. 

He said the EC previously received approval only for Los Angeles in the US, and now obtained permission to start voter registration activities in Washington D.C., New York, and other cities where Bangladesh offices are located.

Among them, New York has the highest level of interest, as the largest Bangladeshi community resides there, he said.

With prior approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the EC earlier began voter registration and NID issuance in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Italy, the United Kingdom, Kuwait, Qatar, Malaysia, Australia and Canada.

Humayun Kabir said the EC has received applications from 48,080 expatriate voters in the nine countries. Among them, biometric data has been collected from 29,646 individuals through mission offices, while 17,367 have been approved for inclusion as voters.

Countries still awaiting approval include Bahrain, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Egypt, Brunei, Mauritius, Iraq, the United States (other areas), Greece, Spain, Germany, Japan, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Brazil, China, Indonesia, New Zealand, Russia, Turkey, and Cyprus.

The EC Secretariat earlier in a letter sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 2 said it is prepared to initiate voter registration activities in the above-mentioned countries and sought approval.

In this context, the EC has requested that, on a priority basis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs grant approval to begin voter registration and NID issuance in the United States, Maldives, Turkey, Jordan, South Africa, Oman, Egypt and France.