The Election Commission will start distributing smart national identity cards from 1 August this year.

Smart national identity cards (NID) registration division director general  Brigadier General Sultanuzzaman Md Salehuddin said, smart cards distribution will start from 1 August. Voters will get the new smart cards free of cost giving their existing laminated identity cards back.

In case the card gets lost, one has to pay certain amount of fee fixed by the commission to get a new card.

Smart cards will be introduced to prevent making of fake identity cards.