In April 2019, the Bangladesh Election Commission announced that Hijra people would be able to register as voters under their own gender identity for the first time, marking a significant development in their political recognition and electoral participation. Previously, Hijra citizens had been required to register as either male or female, despite the Bangladesh government's formal recognition of the Hijra community as a distinct gender category in 2013. The Election Commission decided to introduce "Hijra" as an additional gender classification alongside "male" and "female" in the voter registration process. According to the Commission, the necessary technical arrangements had been completed to identify and record Hijra voters in the electoral database, while amendments to the relevant voter registration law and rules had been made and revised registration forms were being prepared. The decision was announced ahead of the nationwide voter list update scheduled to begin on 23 April 2019, allowing Hijra citizens to register under their recognised gender identity rather than being restricted to the two previously available classifications.

Election Commission Joint Secretary and Director of Operations at the National Identity Registration Wing, Md. Abdul Baten, confirmed that Hijra citizens would be able to register under their own identity during the voter registration exercise. He also explained that Hijra people who had previously registered as male or female could apply to change their gender classification by visiting their respective upazila or thana election offices and completing the required forms. On 3 July 2019, the Election Commission began its voter list update activities in Dhaka, with household-level information collection scheduled to continue until 23 July in most areas of the capital. Reporting on the registration exercise, The Daily Ittefaq confirmed that Hijra citizens could register under the Hijra gender category for the first time and that previously registered voters could also request changes to their existing gender classification. The introduction of this registration option extended the government's earlier recognition of Hijra people into Bangladesh's electoral administration, enabling citizens to have their recognised Hijra identity reflected in official voter registration records.