Muhammad Yunus Warns of Domestic and Foreign Interference in Upcoming Bangladesh Elections

Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus expressed concerns about challenges facing Bangladesh's upcoming elections.

Dhaka:

Bangladesh's interim government leader Muhammad Yunus warned on Wednesday about potential interference from domestic and international forces seeking to disrupt planned general elections, particularly regarding the exclusion of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League from electoral participation.

"Many forces from inside and outside the country will work to spoil the election. Many powerful forces, not minor ones, will attempt to thwart it. Sudden attacks may come," stated Yunus during a high-level election preparedness meeting, according to his press secretary Shafiqul Alam.

Chief Adviser Yunus emphasized that the election would be "challenging" as "various types of propaganda will be carried out in a planned manner from inside and outside the country."

He highlighted concerns about AI-generated images and videos potentially circulating across online platforms and social media, emphasizing the need for immediate action to prevent the spread of such misleading content.

"We must overcome them (obstacles)," the 85-year-old interim leader asserted.

Yunus's remarks coincided with Hasina's interviews with foreign news agencies and The Independent newspaper, marking her first engagement with mainstream media since her government fell on August 5 last year amid violent student-led protests.

Since being ousted from power, 78-year-old Hasina has been residing in India while most of her party leadership and former government officials remain imprisoned or in hiding domestically and internationally.

Three days after Hasina's removal, Yunus returned from Paris to lead the interim government, acknowledging the student protesters as his appointers.

The Yunus administration subsequently suspended Awami League activities through an executive order, citing national security concerns. Hasina and several party leaders now face trial in absentia at Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal.

The Election Commission has revoked the Awami League's registration, effectively barring the party from electoral participation. In her Wednesday interviews, Hasina claimed that "millions of party supporters will boycott election."

With Awami League sidelined, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by former premier Khaleda Zia appears positioned as the frontrunner.

In recent months, Awami League supporters have organized impromptu street demonstrations in the capital to maintain visibility. Police have arrested hundreds of activists from the "banned party" for organizing these marches, including five junior leaders detained overnight Wednesday for participating in sudden processions across different areas of the capital.

Despite her exile and ongoing legal proceedings, Hasina maintained in her interviews a commitment to "restoring democracy" in Bangladesh.

"Only free, fair, and inclusive elections can heal the country," she told The Independent, while emphasizing in other interviews that any future government must possess electoral legitimacy.

"Millions of people support the Awami League, so as things stand, they will not vote. You cannot disenfranchise millions of people if you want a political system that works," she stated, rejecting the legitimacy of any government formed without her party's electoral participation.