180 million people have been denied their voting rights, says Bangladesh Chief Election Commissioner

Bangladesh's CEC aims to end voting rights deprivation for 180 million people, initiating door-to-door data collection for fair elections.

Bangladesh’s Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin on Sunday (January 5, 2025) said that almost 180 million people have been denied their voting rights and the Election Commission wants to end their deprivation, The Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

The CEC, while addressing the inaugural ceremony of a training programme for election officers ahead of a voter list updating exercise, said the Election Commission (EC) wants to remove the fact that the people have been deprived of the voting right for so long.

“We want to remove the pain of their deprivation. We are steadfast in our commitment,” he said.

The countrywide door-to-door data collection for updating the list of possible voters will start on January 20.

The CEC said they are here to hear the 180 million people who have been suffering from the deprivation of voting rights.

“We’ve taken the responsibility so that we can remove their deprivation,” he said.

He said the commission’s main goal is to arrange a fair and credible election.