Bangladesh EC bars ousted PM Hasina from voting

Ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and nine of her family members cannot cast votes in the next election because their national identity cards (NIDs) are locked.Bangladesh’s Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday said it has "locked" the national identity cards of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, effectively barring her from voting in the general elections scheduled for February next year. "Anyone whose national identity (NID) card has been locked cannot vote from abroad,” EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed told reporters at his office in Nirbachon Bhavan in Dhaka.

Ahmed said that to vote from abroad, one has to register online using a NID number. A passport is not sufficient, but a NID will be mandatory. “Only those who register with NID will get this opportunity,” he explained. Hasina has been in exile in India since her government was ousted in a popular uprising on Aug. 5, 2024. All of her family members are also staying in other countries, including in the US and the UK. A UN report estimated 1,400 people were killed in the uprising. Hasina is facing several cases in Bangladesh, including mass killing charges linked to the killings.

Ahmed, however, said those who "fled abroad to evade justice" or for other reasons could still vote provided their NID cards remain active. Hasina’s Awami League government was toppled on August 5, 2024, after a violent student-led movement forced her to escape to India.