Election Roadmap to be Announced Next Week: EC Secretary

Senior Secretary of the Election Commission (EC), Akhtar Ahmed, announced that the roadmap for the 13th parliamentary election will be declared next week. Ahmed shared this information with reporters on Thursday afternoon, August 14.

Previously, on August 7, Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus stated during a meeting of the advisory council at the cabinet conference room that the main task of the interim government is to ensure a fair election.

Following the meeting, the Chief Adviser‍‍`s Press Secretary, Shofiqul Alam, told a press conference that the Chief Adviser had said, "My first chapter ended on August 5. Today, the second chapter has begun. Our primary task now is to ensure a fair election."

On August 6, the Chief Adviser‍‍`s office sent a letter to the Election Commission, asking them to complete all preparations for the upcoming parliamentary election before Ramadan in February 2026.

This letter completed the formality of the government‍‍`s request to the Election Commission to hold the election.

According to EC sources, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) will be completely banned in the parliamentary election. Deepfakes, false, biased, propaganda, malicious, and defamatory content (such as edited videos, audio, and fabricated news) cannot be published on social media to mislead voters. Furthermore, no campaigning that distorts the faces of candidates or party leaders will be allowed. Anyone engaging in such activities will be prosecuted under the Cyber Security or Digital Act.

The EC Secretariat has finalized the draft of the new code of conduct for political parties and candidates in the parliamentary election, including these new provisions.

It was also learned that the EC prepared this draft code of conduct after considering the opinions of political parties, various organizations, and individuals.

The draft code of conduct published by the Election Commission on June 29 did not include these provisions. That draft only mentioned the use of social media.

Based on feedback from BNP and others, several new provisions regarding the misuse of AI and the use of social media have been added to the code of conduct.

Additionally, the draft code of conduct prohibits the use of drones, quadcopters, or similar devices during election campaigns and on polling days.