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Bangladesh has no need for a bicameral parliamentary system, the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) has told the National Consensus Commission, citing the country’s current political reality.
After attending the second round of talks on Tuesday, CPB General Secretary Ruhin Hossain Prince said the leftist alliance, including the Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal (BaSaD) firmly opposed the idea of a two-chamber parliament.
They raised concern over a mention of “establishing a bicameral system” in a commission document and questioned the basis for such a proposal, reports bdnews24.com.
Prince said they had flagged the same objection in a previous meeting, and again reiterated it in Tuesday’s session.
“At that time, they admitted that the wording was not appropriate,” he added. “That means they understood our point. We believe the existing system should be improved, and we’ll work on other reforms too.”
The meeting began at 11.30am at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, bringing together 30 political parties for continued dialogue.
Recalling an earlier meeting with Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus on Oct 5 last year, Prince said leftist parties had submitted written recommendations for reforms needed before any election.
“He [Yunus] said they would only do what everyone agreed on. If 19-20 parties agree, they would then discuss it.”
Prince said this approach is “flawed”, stressing that no reform should proceed on the basis of a majority.
“We reiterated during Tuesday’s talks that nothing should move forward without full unanimity.”
He described the left’s proposals as essential safeguards, particularly in the event of any future authoritarian resurgence.
“Only an elected parliament can uphold accountability. That’s our clear position,” he said.
The CPB leader also warned against unnecessary delay. “While these discussions are happening, people across the country face real issues. We want progress, not stalling.”
On current government powers, he called for restraint: “Consensus-building is welcome, but entering into deals over corridors or ports goes beyond the caretaker government's mandate.”