Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Meets U.S. DiplomatsNational Election Set for 12 February-No Earlier, No Later

By Mahbub Hasan Tutul, Dhaka Correspondent, Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, has reaffirmed the government’s commitment that the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election and referendum will be held strictly on 12 February, neither a day earlier nor a day later.

He made the remarks on Tuesday night during a meeting with two former senior U.S. diplomats Albert Gombis and Morse Tan at the state guest house Jamuna in Dhaka.

According to the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing, former Acting Under Secretary of State Albert Gombis and former Ambassador-at-Large Morse Tan are visiting Bangladesh at a critical moment ahead of the election. Both previously served in the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump.

During the meeting, Dr. Yunus said the interim government is firmly determined to conduct the election within the scheduled timeframe and to hand over power to a democratically elected government immediately after the announcement of the results.

What anyone says is irrelevant. The election will be held on 12 February neither a day before nor a day after, he said. The election will be free, fair, peaceful, and held in a festive atmosphere. The interim government will remain completely neutral, the administration will be impartial, and equal opportunities will be ensured for all political parties.

Dr. Yunus also said the government is campaigning in favor of a “Yes” vote in the referendum. If the July Charter is approved with public support, he noted, it would mark the beginning of a new chapter in democratic governance and eliminate any future scope for authoritarian rule.

Referring to attempts to spread misinformation around the election, he said supporters of the former autocratic regime are deliberately spreading fake news and disinformation to create confusion. However, he added, the public has become much more aware and is increasingly capable of identifying AI-generated misleading videos.

The Press Wing said the nearly hour-long meeting also covered issues including the July uprising and its aftermath, the rise of youth movements, the July Charter and referendum, election-related disinformation, the Rohingya crisis, and the prospects for a Truth and Reconciliation process in post-July Bangladesh.

Former Under Secretary Gombis agreed, saying fake news has become “one of the main enemies of democracy” worldwide and that more effective measures are needed to counter this threat.

Both diplomats praised Dr. Yunus’s leadership over the past one and a half years and asked whether Bangladesh could initiate a Truth and Reconciliation process similar to post-apartheid South Africa. In response, Dr. Yunus said that as a close friend of Nelson Mandela, he closely observed South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation process, but the time is not yet right for such an initiative in Bangladesh.

Hinting at the ousted authoritarian leader Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League, he said the conditions are not yet suitable. “Where would we begin? A Truth and Reconciliation process is possible only when mistakes are acknowledged, remorse and repentance are expressed, and an appropriate environment is created,” he said.

“There is still no remorse, no repentance. Instead, young people killed during the July movement are being labeled as terrorists, despite overwhelming evidence of brutal crimes. Even then, everything continues to be denied.”

SDG Coordinator and Senior Secretary Lamia Morshed was also present at the meeting.