NID not mandatory for casting votes

National ID cards (NIDs) or smart cards are not mandatory for casting votes in the 11th general election to be held on Sunday. 

“National ID cards or smart cards are not mandatory for casting votes. Smart cards, NIDs and voter numbers will help people cast their votes on electronic voting machines (EVMs), but these are not mandatory,” Election Commission Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed said during a press conference at the commission’s office in Dhaka’s Agargaon.

He added that no one will be allowed to use mobile phones in polling centres, with the exception of the presiding officer and on-duty police officer. “Voters can carry mobile phones, but, they will have to switch them off after entering the centres.”

He also said no motorized vehicles, including private cars, will be allowed to run on streets in the country on voting day, without permission from the Election Commission. The bar is not applicable to ambulances, or the vehicles of fire services and media.

Regarding the counting of votes, Election Commission Additional Secretary Moklesur Rahman said: “The election results will be announced at every centre. After the election, presiding officers of the respective polling centres will count votes in presence of persons concerned, such as observers.”