TDS Desk:

Around five million new voters are set to be added to the updated voter list through a door-to-door registration drive, Election Commission (EC) Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed has said.

He shared the information at a press conference held at Nirbachan Bhaban in Agargaon on Tuesday.

According to the EC secretary, a total of 4,970,388 new voters are being included in the update, though the Election Commission had initially targeted over 6.1 million.

Additionally, 1,523,000 deceased voters have been removed from the list, which accounts for 1.77% of the total voter base.

Ahmed said that 1.6 million women have registered as voters in the ongoing update process.

He assured that those who were excluded during this phase would still have the opportunity to be included, as registration will continue until April 11.

Eligible individuals can also register online or at regional offices. However, if any household was missed by information collectors, the EC will investigate the matter, he added.

Addressing concerns over underage individuals registering as voters, Ahmed said the EC does not have any confirmed cases of 17-year-olds becoming voters using false information. However, the commission will investigate if any specific complaints are reported.