EC to Take Immediate Action Against Over 500 Holding Multiple NIDs
The Election Commission (EC) has identified over 500 individuals across Bangladesh with multiple National Identity Cards (NIDs) and is taking action to address the issue.
ASM Humayun Kabir, Director General of the EC’s National Identity Registration Division, said this on Monday, May 5, at the Election Building in Agargaon.
Kabir revealed that the EC is streamlining processes to tackle the issue, with “significant progress” expected next week.
“Searching 130 million records individually is impractical, but we’ll act on specific leads,” he said. The EC is also decentralising NID correction powers to district officers to expedite pending applications and enhance public service.
To prevent unauthorized entries, particularly by Rohingyas, Kabir noted that the EC awaits a database via API from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other agencies. “We will not allow foreigners in our database,” he affirmed, adding that fingerprint verification will be implemented once the server location is finalised.
Kabir also outlined plans for an NID seminar this month, involving media, officials, and possibly civil society, to discuss simplification.
On expatriate voting, he said the program is active in eight countries, with Canada set to join next week. Expansion to 40 countries faces embassy space constraints, but an inter-ministerial meeting next week aims to resolve logistical hurdles.
