Unsatisfactory progress, no decision made

Progress in talks with political parties remained unsatisfactory as no decision was made, said National Consensus Commission (NCC) Vice-Chairman Prof Ali Riaz on Sunday, calling on the parties to come forward to reach a consensus.

"We had hoped that we all would sign the July Charter on Abu Sayed's death anniversary. But how it will be possible in reality depends on the political parties. We are now a little apprehensive about this," he said at the beginning of the seventh day of the second phase of the NCC's talks with parties at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka.

No new issues were raised at the discussion.

Instead, unfinished discussions on several previous issues, including the appointment committee for constitutional and statutory institutions, bicameral parliament, election process for the upper house, and responsibilities and roles of the upper house, continued.

The commission called on parties to reconsider the proposal for forming a committee for appointments to statutory institutions.

Prof Riaz said, "Most parties have welcomed the proposal for an appointment committee instead of the NCC completing the appointments to statutory institutions. But we have requested the parties that have not yet agreed to reconsider the proposal after making some amendments to it. We hope they will reconsider. We hope the issue will be resolved in the next discussion."

Stating that most parties agreed in favour of a bicameral parliament, he said many parties have talked about the proportional representation system for the formation of the upper house while some have clearly opposed it.

"But we are trying to conclude the discussion by July and announce the July Charter," he added.

"The commission has become flexible in several issues, including Article 70, NCC, and the process of forming the upper house through the proposals of political parties. The commission is certainly not an opponent of political parties. We want to remain committed and sincere," he continued.

After the meeting, the BNP delegation led by Salahuddin Ahmed said his party has agreed on a bicameral parliament system.

"No consensus was made at the discussion, and the commission proposed further discussions. But we do not know how long it will take to reach a consensus," he said.

Representatives of 30 political parties, including BNP, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, and National Citizen Party (NCP), participated in the discussion.

Discussions were held on the appointment committee of constitutional and statutory institutions and the election process of the upper house. July 2 was set as the next discussion date by the commission.

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