Over 500 people hold multiple NIDs: NID DG

More than 500 individuals across Bangladesh possess multiple National Identity Cards (NIDs), according to ASM Humayun Kabir, Director General of the National Identity Registration Wing of the Election Commission (EC).

Speaking to reporters on Monday (5 May) at the EC office in Dhaka, Kabir said, "By next week, you will see significant progress regarding actions taken against these individuals. With over 130 million records, it's not feasible to check each one manually. However, if credible information is brought to our attention, we act on it."

He also announced that the authority to correct NID information—previously limited to regional election officers—is now being extended to district-level officials.

"To improve service delivery, the commission is fast-tracking legitimate applications. Our aim is to ensure timely services by decentralizing responsibilities appropriately," he added.

Kabir further stated that measures are being taken to empower EC Secretariat officials to streamline service operations.

"We've authorized regional officers to classify applications and are closely monitoring their performance. Some are doing well, while others need improvement," he noted.

Addressing the issue of Rohingya refugees, the Director General said a database was expected to be shared with the EC via API last week.

"We have yet to receive a final decision on which ministry will host the server for the Rohingya data. However, as long as we can verify their fingerprints, the server's location is not a major concern," he explained.

Regarding expatriate voters, Kabir said overseas voter registration is currently active in eight countries, including Australia.

"Regular registration is ongoing in Australia. We expect to launch registration in Canada next week, bringing the total to nine countries. The main challenge in expanding this service is the limited space at embassies.

"We've held discussions with the finance and foreign ministries, and an inter-ministerial meeting is scheduled for next week to identify and resolve these issues, with the goal of eventually expanding the programme to 40 countries," he said.