Final voter list on August 31 for local government polls : EC

The Election Commission (EC) has announced that the final voter list for the upcoming local government elections will be published on August 31. Instructions have already been sent to all upazila/thana election officers and registration officers across the country.

The information was disclosed in an official letter signed by Senior Assistant Secretary Md. Nasir Uddin Chowdhury on Thursday (July 9).

According to the letter, the EC has undertaken an update of the voter list in preparation for various local government elections. Under Section 3(j) of the Voter List Act, 2009, the Commission has set July 31, 2008, as the eligibility cut-off date for inclusion in the updated voter list.

Accordingly, all individuals whose date of birth is July 31, 2008, or earlier, and who have been or will be registered in the voter database by July 31, 2026, will be included in the draft voter list. The Commission has approved a detailed schedule for publishing the draft list, receiving claims, objections and correction applications, disposing of those applications, and publishing the final voter list.

According to the EC's schedule, the deadline for preparing the PDF version of the updated draft voter list and sending its link to the respective registration officers at the field level is August 4. The draft voter list will be published on August 9.

Applications for claims, objections and corrections will be accepted until August 24. These applications must be resolved by August 27, while the final deadline for incorporating approved changes into the list is August 28. Following completion of all procedures, the final voter list will be published on August 31.

The letter further instructed that, after publication of the draft voter list, the public should be encouraged to inspect the list and apply for corrections where necessary. To raise public awareness, announcements should be made before or after prayers at mosques, temples and other places of worship through imams, priests and other religious leaders. Local journalists and cable television operators have also been requested to publicize the matter in the public interest.

In addition, election officials have been directed to take necessary measures to correct any errors in the printed draft voter list, including incorrect inclusion in the male or female voter lists, mistakes related to religious information, or any other inaccuracies.

According to the Election Commission's latest updated data, Bangladesh currently has 128,323,240 registered voters. Of them, 65,212,731 are male, 63,109,266 are female, and 1,243 are registered as third-gender voters.