The process of updating the electoral roll this year will not include officials going door to door, says the Election Commission.
Transgender people, commonly known as hijras, will be listed as the third gender in the updated voters’ list, Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed told the media on Tuesday.
“With the next national polls due late this year, it will be not possible for the commission to manage door-to-door info collection,” he said before adding an individual will have to go to the local election office to register as a voter.
Halting the update process will not violate the terms of Section 11 of the Electoral Rolls Act 2009, claimed EC officials.
According to Section 11 of the Act, legality or continuity of the existing voter list will not be void if the commission does not update the list in line with the law.
The government, however, issued a gazette on the ‘Voter List Rules 2012’, setting the instructions on preparing voter lists.
The EC’s data collectors will visit door to door and distribute forms and other necessary documents among the (possible) voters to prepare the voter list.