Bangladesh's leader has warned that any deviation from planned elections would be "extremely dangerous", as violent political rivalries deepen a year after the overthrow of longtime prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The warning comes after protests in the South Asian nation, which left a key leader hospitalised, with parties vying for power ahead of the first elections since the uprising.
"The chief adviser said there is no alternative to an election," Yunus' press secretary Shafiqul Alam said late Sunday. "Any deviation from it would be extremely dangerous for the country."
He met on Monday with army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, who he thanked for the "continued contribution to the maintenance of law and order".
Uz-Zaman, according to a government statement, said he backed the government, and "urged the chief adviser not to pay attention to rumours".
A key recent source of contention is whether the Jatiya Party, seen as a former ally of Hasina, should be allowed to take part in elections.
On Friday, violent clashes erupted in Dhaka when the Gono Odhikar Parishad party held a rally demanding it be banned.
Gono Odhikar Parishad party leader Nurul Haque Nur was badly beaten when the police and military sought to stop the rally.
Jamaat-e-Islami has also demanded Jatiya be excluded. Hasina's Awami League has already been banned. Violent protests were reported in universities, including at Chittagong University, where around a hundred students were injured on Saturday.
Parties are yet to agree on efforts by Yunus to create a charter for democratic reforms. AFP
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