The Election Commission of Bangladesh has announced that female voters must show their faces at polling centers during the upcoming 13th parliamentary election to verify their identities. The commission stated that this measure is necessary to prevent fraudulent voting and that no exceptions will be made. To ensure privacy, female polling officers and female Ansar members will be appointed at all centers so that veiled women can reveal their faces only to female officials.

Election Commissioner Anwarul Islam Sarkar explained that matching a voter’s face with the photo on the voter list is a mandatory part of the voting procedure. If a voter refuses to show her face, she will not receive a ballot paper. However, women who decline to unveil in the absence of female officers cannot be forced to vote, and no legal action will be taken against them. Legal experts and Islamic scholars noted that showing one’s face for identification is permissible under both law and religion, but the state and the commission must ensure women’s privacy.

The commission confirmed that the election will use paper ballots, eliminating biometric verification options available in electronic voting machines. Identity will therefore be confirmed solely by matching faces with voter list photos.