As Bangladesh approaches its 13th national parliamentary election, allegations of irregularities in the expatriate postal voting system have triggered concern, raising fresh questions about the credibility of a process already burdened by long-standing distrust.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has accused the authorities of presiding over, or at least failing to prevent, what it describes as systematic manipulation of postal ballots sent to Bangladeshi voters abroad.

A  video was widely circulated online in recent days, showing groups of individuals handling large numbers of ballot envelopes in foreign locations—footage that BNPleaders argue exposes breach of electoral safeguards.

The postal voting initiative, introduced on a large scale for the first time in Bangladesh’s electoral history, was intended to enfranchise expatriate voters scattered across the Middle East, Europe, North America and beyond.

According to a report published by the Daily Ittefaq on December 21, 2025, more than 520,000 expatriate Bangladeshis registered to vote by post. The sheer scale of this electorate means that postal ballots could play a decisive role in shaping outcomes in a tightly contested election.

Yet that same scale has now become a source of anxiety for some of the political leaders. It remains impossible, they say, at this stage, to determine how many of these ballots actually reached their intended recipients and how many may have been intercepted, collected, or influenced by organized groups operating abroad.

The video that has surfaced online shows stacks of ballot envelopes being sorted, displayed, and in some cases handled collectively by individuals who are clearly not officials of the Election Commission.

Those who released the footage claim the individuals involved include expatriate leaders and activists affiliated with Jamaat, although no independent verification has yet confirmed these identities.

What is beyond dispute, however, is that the people seen in the footage have no formal authorization to handle election materials.

BNP leaders argue that the silence of the authorities concerned surrounding the issue has been more troubling than the allegations themselves.

Despite the videos circulating widely for several days and being scrutinized by journalists, civil society actors, and political parties, neither the government nor the Election Commission has issued a detailed, accountable explanation of how such scenes could occur under a secure postal voting system.

The Election Commission has stated that it has found no evidence of irregularities, describing at least one video from Bahrain as a “celebratory” gathering in which expatriates collected ballots on behalf of one another without opening envelopes.

That explanation has done little to quell suspicion, particularly as it appears to normalize informal handling of ballots in a process that, by design, is supposed to be individual, and confidential.

The BNP believes it to be a part of a broader pattern of institutional bias. In addition to questioning the handling of ballots abroad, the party has alleged that its electoral symbol was deliberately placed in a less prominent position on postal ballots, potentially disadvantageous to voters unfamiliar with the layout.

It has demanded constituency-specific ballots containing the names and symbols of all candidates, arguing that this would reduce confusion and opportunities for manipulation.

While the Election Commission has said it will consider some of these demands, critics argue that procedural tweaks cannot substitute for accountability over what has already occurred.

What lends additional weight to the controversy is the timing. These allegations have emerged even before the official voting period has begun, undermining confidence before a single vote has been counted.

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