Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday directed the government authorities concerned to take the highest-level measures to face the “worst situation” surrounding the upcoming national elections.
He expressed concern that attempts might be made to foil the polls with the help of powerful forces.
The directive was given during a high-level meeting, just a day after the National Consensus Commission submitted its recommendations on implementing the July Charter to the chief adviser.
Yunus presided over the two-hour meeting at his official residence, Jamuna, in the capital.
The meeting mainly focused on four key issues — the posting of field administration officials, the law and order, the training of election personnel, and strategies to counter misinformation on social media.
“Many forces from home and abroad will work to foil the election. They will try to thwart the polls through major powers, not small forces. The attack may come at any time. So, the elections will be challenging. We must overcome that situation, whatever comes,” CA’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam told reporters, quoting the Chief Adviser as saying during the meeting.
The interim government is moving forward with the goal of holding the 13th parliamentary elections before Ramadan in February next year.
The Yunus-led government fixed the probable timeline for the elections following a meeting with BNP Acting Chairperson Tarique Rahman in London last June.
Directing the authorities to complete all preparations by 15 November, Yunus said that misinformation would be spread in a planned manner to disrupt the election.
“Deliberate disinformation campaigns may be run both from within and outside the country to foil the election. AI-generated photos and videos may be circulated. The moment a false campaign begins, it must be stopped before it spreads,” he said.
The press secretary said the meeting held a detailed discussion on the security situation during the election period.
The army informed the meeting that around 92,500 personnel from the Army and Navy would be deployed for the election — 90,000 from the Army and the remainder from the Navy.
“There will be special preparations to manage the law and order 72 hours before and 72 hours after the election,” he said.
Regarding the appointment of field administration officials, he said, “No one will be posted to their home district or to their in-laws’ district. Similarly, if any relatives are contesting the election in a particular area, that official will not be assigned there.”
The appointment process will begin on 1 November, he added.
When asked whether there had been any discussion about the specific date of the election, Alam said that the Election Commission had informed the meeting it would announce the date in the first week of December.
The home affairs adviser told the meeting that a list of Superintendents of Police had been prepared for all 64 districts.
The chief adviser emphasised, “The most competent individuals must be appointed to the highest-risk areas.”
The meeting also decided not to involve any officials — including Deputy Commissioners (DCs), Additional Deputy Commissioners (ADCs), Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs), and magistrates — who participated in the last three elections, in the upcoming polls.
Home Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman, Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser on Defence and National Solidarity Development Abdul Hafiz, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser on the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Faiz Ahmed Taiyeb, Chief Adviser’s Principal Secretary M Siraj Uddin Miah, Election Commission Secretary Akhter Ahmed, Home Secretary Nasimul Gani, Cabinet Secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid, Principal Staff Officer (PSO) Lieutenant General SM Kamrul Hassan, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam, RAB Director General AKM Shahidur Rahman, Director General of Bangladesh Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mohammad Ziaul Haque, Director General of Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party (Ansar-VDP) Major General Abdul Motaleb Sazzad Mahmud, and representatives from NSI, DGFI, and SBR attended the meeting.
