Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus has reaffirmed his government’s commitment to holding the general elections and the referendum as scheduled on February 12.
“No matter who says what, elections will be held on February 12—not a day before, not a day after,” he said, adding that the vote would be free, fair, and peaceful, conducted in a festive atmosphere.
Professor Yunus made the remarks when two former senior United States diplomats—Albert Gombis and Morse Tan, both of whom served during the Donald Trump administration—called on him at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka on Tuesday night, according to a Chief Adviser’s Facebook post on Wednesday at 12:36 pm.
Addressing concerns about misinformation, Yunus noted that a flood of fake news had created confusion around the elections, but emphasized that the interim government remained firm in its commitment to hold the polls on February 12 and to hand over power to a democratically elected government once the results are announced.
He assured that the interim government would remain completely neutral during the elections, ensuring an unbiased administration and a level playing field for all political parties.
Albert Gombis, former Acting Under Secretary of State, and Morse Tan, former Ambassador-at-Large, are visiting Bangladesh ahead of the crucial elections. During the hour-long meeting, they discussed a wide range of issues including the forthcoming elections, the July Revolution and its aftermath, the rise of young protesters, the July Charter and the referendum, fake news and misinformation targeting the vote, the Rohingya crisis, and prospects for truth and reconciliation in a post-July Bangladesh.
Professor Yunus said his government was campaigning for “Yes” votes in the referendum, emphasizing that the July Charter—set to be endorsed by the people—would usher in a new era of democratic governance and leave no room for future autocracy.
He criticised supporters of the former autocratic regime for spreading fake news and misinformation to create confusion around the elections. “But people are alert. Increasingly, they can detect AI-generated misinformation videos,” he said.
Gombis agreed that fake news has become “one of the main enemies” of democracy worldwide and stressed the need for stronger efforts to counter it.
Both diplomats praised the Chief Adviser for his crucial role in steering the country over the past one and a half years and inquired whether a truth and reconciliation initiative—similar to post-apartheid South Africa—might be possible in Bangladesh.
Professor Yunus said that as a friend of the late Nelson Mandela, he had closely followed South Africa’s truth and reconciliation process but saw no possibility of a similar move in Bangladesh at this moment, citing the continued denial of crimes by the former regime.
“Time is not right. Where do you start? Truth and reconciliation come when you admit that you were wrong, repent, and show remorse for your crimes, creating the right atmosphere,” he said.
“So far, there is no remorse, no repentance. Instead, they claim that the young people killed during the July uprising were killed by terrorists. There is stacks of evidence of their crimes—absolutely barbaric crimes—yet they remain in complete denial.”
SDG Coordinator and Senior Secretary Lamiya Morshed was also present at the meeting.