Bangladesh EC to Launch Central Communication Cell to Curb AI and Social Media Abuse Before 2026 Polls

Bangladesh EC to form central cell to curb AI misuse and social media abuse ahead of 2026 polls

Bangladesh's Election Commission will set up a central communication cell to counter AI misuse and social media misinformation during the next national election, planned for early February 2026. "We have been working rigorously on this issue for a long time… We will develop a central communication cell," said Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin at a dialogue with civil society in Dhaka's Agargaon on September 28, 2025.

The CEC said the Commission is "fully aware of the consequences" of abuse of social platforms and AI, and will act on recommendations that are within its capacity. The dialogue kicked off a series of consultations with stakeholders ahead of the polls.

Key signals from the EC that impact PR and communications

• Central communication cell: Expect faster flagging and coordinated responses to misleading content and synthetic media during the election period.
• Regulatory updates: The EC has updated the voter list, amended the Representation of the People Order (RPO), revised the electoral code of conduct, and worked on amendments to nine election-related laws.
• Expanded voting access: Work is underway on IT-supported postal ballots for expatriates, with arrangements planned for prisoners and officials stationed away from their constituencies on polling day.

For context and official updates, see the Bangladesh Election Commission's website: ecs.gov.bd. For the legal framework, review the RPO on the government law portal: Representation of the People Order.

What PR and comms teams should do now

• Stand up an election-period response cell. Define roles, escalation paths, and a 24/7 on-call roster that aligns with likely EC guidance.
• Pre-bunk and fact-check. Prepare short, repeatable explainers for known rumors, voting processes, and candidate claims. Maintain a verified source list.
• Deepfake and synthetic media protocol. Use a checklist for audio/video provenance, watermark checks, and content hashing. Document verification steps before publishing.
• Ad and content compliance. Map your content types to the revised code of conduct. Keep a central log of paid placements, targeting, and approvals.
• Incident playbooks. Draft templates for takedown requests, corrections, and community notes. Pre-approve legal and crisis statements.
• Channel hygiene. Enable two-factor authentication, restrict admin access, and archive election-related posts and edits.
• Stakeholder links. Identify an internal liaison to coordinate with the EC's central cell once operational.
• Team readiness. Run red-team drills simulating misinformation spikes and deepfake drops 72 hours before polling day.

Who the EC engaged in the latest dialogue

Election commissioners Abdur Rahmanel Masud, Tahmida Ahmad, Md Anwarul Islam Sarker and Brig Gen (retd) Abdul Fazal Md Sanaullah attended, with EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed moderating. Civil society participants included former caretaker government adviser Rasheda K Chowdhury, former ambassador M Humayun Kabir, Professor Robaet Ferdous, Chittagong University Vice-Chancellor Muhammad Yeahia Akhter, Lt Gen (retd) Md Mahfuzur Rahman, and Police Reform Commission Member Zarif Rahman.

Why this matters for your election communications

• Faster oversight: A central cell means quicker scrutiny of high-velocity content. Publish with verification receipts and clear source citations.
• Higher bar for transparency: Expect tighter expectations on disclosures, claims substantiation, and sponsored content labeling.
• Operational resilience: Prepare for content challenges, platform takedowns, and surge monitoring during peak periods.

If your team needs to skill up on AI safety, verification, and prompt workflows for communications, explore practical training here: AI Certification for Marketing and Communications.

The EC will continue dialogues with additional stakeholder groups, including educationists and professors. Monitor official channels for guidance on the new cell, compliance clarifications, and timing for postal ballot procedures.