The number of voters in Bangladesh has now stood at 12,61,70,900, according to the draft updated voter list published by the Election Commission (EC) on Sunday.

The draft list includes around 45 lakh newly registered voters, said EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed at a briefing at the EC building in the capital.

The updated voter list has been published simultaneously in all election offices across the country today, he said.

The EC has also kept the door open for those turning 18 by October 31 to be included in the voter list under a new law aimed at preventing newly eligible voters from waiting a year, he said.

As per the law, the EC published this year’s first voter list on March 2 when the total number of voters stood at 12,37,32,274.

Following the latest updating drive, 45,71,216 new voters were added while 21,32,590 names were removed from the existing list due to death or other reasons.

The final updated voter list will be published on August 31.

The October voter list will give the final count before the next general election, said the Senior Secretary.

District election offices have displayed the draft list in their designated areas.

Citizens now can apply for corrections, inclusions, deletions, or transfers until August 21 and all requests will be resolved by August 24.