EC Plans ‘Nickname’ in NID, Recommendation Required for New Voters

Election Commission (EC) is preparing to introduce two significant changes to the National Identity (NID) registration process to make it more robust and resistant to fraud.

The NID Wing will soon include a new field for a person’s commonly used “nickname” alongside their official name. NID Wing Director General ASM Humayun Kabir confirmed this plan to the media. He explained that criminals often attempt to conceal their identity by using only their formal name. Including the locally or family-known nickname in the NID database will make it much harder to hide or falsify identity, thereby strengthening the accuracy and transparency of citizen identification.

Currently, the NID records only the formal name and parents’ names, but it does not capture the name by which a person is widely known in their community or family. Adding this detail will enrich the database and improve verification.

To prevent foreign nationals or Rohingya individuals from illegally registering as voters, the EC is also planning to make a recommendation from a respected or notable local person mandatory. A special section will be added to Form-2 (the voter registration application form) where the applicant must provide endorsement from a prominent local figure confirming that the applicant is genuinely a resident of that area.

The NID Director General stated: “If the provision for a recommendation from a notable local person is enforced, it will become extremely difficult for Rohingya or foreign nationals to become Bangladeshi voters. Local representatives or well-known persons will verify whether the applicant is truly from that area.”

The commission expects these measures—once implemented—to make field-level voter list updates more transparent and significantly reduce incidents of NID fraud, identity theft, and unauthorized registration.