Special correspondent :
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin on Tuesday said the Election Commission has been seriously working on containing the misuse of AI (Artificial Intelligence) on digital platforms during the next parliamentary election.
The commission has also sought assistance from Canada on preventing the abuse of AI, he told reporters after a meeting with Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Ajit Singh at Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital.
According to the reports in different international media, misusing AI has become a concern in recent elections due to the generation of misinformation and false information. Persons with vested interests spread this information on social platforms to gain unfair benefits.
CEC said, “The misuse of AI may be a big threat for us. We’ve sought their (Canada’s) assistance on how to address this issue because Canada had an election last year. So, they had to face such issues as well. We’ve sought suggestions based on their experiences. We are seriously working on this issue.”
Foreign observers who certified last three elections not to be invited:
CEC also said this time the EC would not invite the foreign observers who certified the last three general elections as acceptable and credible.
In response to a question, he said, “Why should we invite those foreign observers who certified the last three elections? Should we take all the observers who certified that the last three elections were very good, acceptable, and credible elections?”
Meanwhile, according to EC data, the number of foreign observers was lower in the last three elections under the Awami League government, which were controversial.
On Tuesday, Nasir Uddin said the commission will invite foreign observers who are dependable, reliable and also have experience observing elections in different countries.
“So, we will invite them and will exclude those who certified the previous three elections,” he added.
He also expressed optimism that a huge number of foreign observers would come to watch the next general election.
About the discussion with Canadian diplomats, the CEC also said when they (Canadian diplomats) wanted to know about the election preparation and if this commission would be able to deliver the next election properly, the commission provided detailed information about the preparations.
He said they wanted to know about the areas where they can assist the Election Commission.
Nasir Uddin said the Commission will start a massive awareness-raising campaign across the country and voter education programs.
The EC also informed that there will be training programs for polling staff, election observers, and polling agents ahead of the next election, he added.
In this regard, the envoy said Canada is with the Bangladesh Election Commission.
“Canada is ready to help Bangladesh and will continue,” CEC was quoted as saying.
“They want us to have free, fair, and credible elections,” said the CEC, adding that they emphasized the inclusion of females in voter registration and wanted to know about the campaign in the hilly areas.
“They (foreign countries) have full confidence in the Election Commission that this commission is able to deliver a free, fair, and credible election. Canada is very happy hearing our commitments. They are highly satisfied,” said Nasir Uddin.
“When they (Canadian diplomats) asked if there is any specific date for the next general election, I said no,” he said.
Regain image distorted in last three elections:
In another programme, the CEC urged election officials to work for regaining the EC’s lost image.
Terming the role of election officials, Nasir Uddin urged those who would be engaged in election duties to take the upcoming general election as an opportunity to restore public confidence and repair the image that has been seriously affected in the past three elections.
“The images of our administration, police, and law enforcement agencies have been seriously affected during the last three elections. This is a chance to recover it,” he said at an event organized by the Reporters Forum for Election and Democracy (RFED) at Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital.