The interim government has amended the law to grant the Election Commission the authority to publish and update the voter list at any time of the year, before the announcement of the election schedule.
Completing all necessary procedures, the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs published the 鈥榁oter List (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025鈥� Thursday night.
On July 17, the advisory council gave final approval in principle to the draft of the ordinance, allowing those who turn 18 before the announcement of the election schedule to register as voters.
Prior to the amendment, individuals who become eligible to vote after January 2 of a given year are excluded from participating in elections that year and even up to March of the following year.
Previously, the rule mandated the publication of the draft voter list on January 2 and the final list on March 2 each year.
Ahead of the 13th parliamentary elections, the commission, led by AMM Nasir Uddin, updated the voter list through a door-to-door campaign starting on January 20.
Information of another 44.5 lakh eligible voters had been registered till June but complications arose in publishing this updated list, as the law, prior to the amendment, required waiting until March 2, 2026.
Meanwhile, the commission is preparing to hold the next national election in February next year in line with the government announcement.
To resolve this, the government moved to amend the law, enabling the EC to publish voter lists anytime in the year.
With the ordinance now in effect, the Election Commission can include new voters and publish the list at any time of the year, even ahead of the election schedule announcement.
