Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday warned that the upcoming 13th parliamentary election would face challenges as many forces from home and abroad would act to thwart the polls.

“Many forces from inside and outside the country will work to spoil the election. Many powerful forces, not minor ones, will attempt to thwart the election. Sudden attacks may come. This election will be challenging. No matter how many obstacles come our way, we must overcome them,” Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam quoted him as saying at a high-level meeting.

The high-level meeting on election preparations, presided over by the Chief Adviser, was held at the State Guest House Jamuna in the city.

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Shafiqul Alam briefed reporters at the Foreign Service Academy in the afternoon after the meeting. 

During the meeting, the four issues -- election-time posting of field-level officials, checking misinformation and disinformation in social media, training of election officials and security-- were mainly discussed.

The Chief Adviser warned that there will be social media propaganda during the next election. “Various types of propaganda will be carried out in a planned manner from inside and outside the country to spoil the election,” he was quoted as telling the meeting.

Prof Yunus said AI-generated images and videos would also be circulated online and social media. Immediate action must be taken to prevent the spread of such contents, he said.

He emphasised raising public awareness to make the upcoming election fair and festive one. People need to understand electoral guidelines, polling station procedures, how to cast their votes and what to do in case of any disturbances, he said.

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In this context, Prof Yunus suggested that the Election Commission and the Cultural Affairs Ministry produce more TVCs, documentaries, and short videos explaining these processes and rapidly disseminate them on YouTube and social media, so people can prepare themselves in advance.