First round of national consensus talks concludes after two months

The first round of dialogues between the National Consensus Commission and political parties, aimed at building consensus on the reform initiatives undertaken by the interim government, concluded on Monday after two months of discussions.

“The first phase of talks with political parties, which began two months ago, concluded today (Monday),” said Vice Chairman of the Consensus Commission Prof Ali Riaz while presiding over the discussion with Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) at the LD Hall of the Jatiya Sangsad Complex.

On March 20 last, the Consensus Commission opened a series of talks with political parties to forge a national consensus on state reform initiatives.

The commission held talks with 33 political parties, including BNP, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and National Citizen Party (NCP).

Prof Ali Riaz said the Consensus Commission will start the second round of dialogues soon to reach consensus on reform agendas.

 “In the dialogues with political parties, we have been able to reach consensus on many issues and we also have differences of opinion on several issues. We will soon begin the second phase of talks and discuss all the issues on which there are differences of opinion,” he said.

Prof Ali Riaz hoped that the commission could move forward quickly in preparing a national charter through unresolved issue-based discussions.

A seven-member CPB delegation, led by Ruhin Hossain Prince, attended its second day of talks with the Consensus Commission.

Formed on February 15, 2025, under the leadership of Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, the Commission was tasked with shaping a unified national stance on critical reforms.

The commission, in its initial phase, compiled key recommendations from five reform commissions — addressing constitutional, public administration, electoral, judicial, and anti-corruption reforms — and shared them with 39 political parties for feedback.

At least 34 political parties, including BNP, Jamaat and NCP, responded by sending their reform opinions in broad sheets to the Consensus Commission.

The National Consensus Commission aims to reach a national consensus by mid-July to prepare a national charter to reform the state structures.