Bangladesh Election Commission to Publish Final Electoral Roll Amidst Inclusivity Concerns

Final Electoral Roll Nears Publication

The Bangladesh Election Commission (EC) is scheduled to publish the country's final electoral rolls on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. This updated list will be crucial for the 13th parliamentary election, anticipated to take place in early February 2026. Earlier, draft updated voter lists were released on November 3, 2025, allowing for objections and reviews before finalization.

According to the draft figures, the total number of registered voters in Bangladesh stands at approximately 127.6 million (127,612,384), with the final count expected to be around 128 million. This includes 64,760,382 male, 62,850,772 female, and 1,230 third-gender voters. Youth who reached the age of 18 by October 31, 2025, were eligible for inclusion in these electoral rolls.

Concerns Over Youth Underrepresentation and Participation

Significant concerns have been raised regarding the underrepresentation and low participation of eligible youth voters in Bangladesh's electoral process. A study conducted in 2023 revealed that 53.8% of youths aged 18-35 had never cast a vote in a general election, with this figure climbing to over 76% for those aged 18-24.

Further research in 2025 indicated that 75% of young respondents had not participated in any national election since 2008. Among those who attempted to vote, nearly 59% reported being unable to cast their ballot due to issues such as violence or electoral interference. This widespread non-participation is often linked to a 'deep-seated mistrust' in the electoral system, fueled by accusations of 'manipulation, repression, and institutional failure,' leading many young people to believe their votes do not make a difference.

The 2024 general election, for instance, saw a low voter turnout of 41.8%, partly attributed to a boycott by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and a growing sentiment among youth to abstain from political participation.

EC's Efforts to Enhance Inclusivity and Accuracy

In response to these challenges, the Election Commission has undertaken various initiatives to update and improve the accuracy of the voter list. These efforts include 'door-to-door data collection' to register missing eligible voters. The EC's stated aim is to include 'millions of voters' who may have been excluded in previous updates.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin has emphasized the need for cooperation from political parties to ensure 'fair, impartial, and acceptable' elections, acknowledging that the EC cannot achieve this monumental task alone. The Commission has also introduced a mobile application, 'Postal Vote BD', designed to facilitate voting for specific groups, including expatriates, election duty personnel, government staff serving outside their electoral areas, and incarcerated individuals.

The EC has conducted multiple updates to the voter list throughout 2025, with publications on March 2 and August 31, leading up to the final list on November 18. These updates have resulted in the removal of approximately 2.1 million deceased voters and the addition of over 4 million previously excluded eligible voters.

Historical Context of Electoral Roll Scrutiny

Concerns regarding the accuracy and inclusiveness of Bangladesh's electoral rolls are not new. As far back as 2006, an election monitoring group reported that 'more than 12 million names' on the voter list were 'false' and that the list was 'substantially inconsistent with the 2001 census data,' highlighting a long-standing issue of credibility in the voter registration process.