Parties agree on referendum to implement July Charter

A major breakthrough comes in the prolonged post-uprising national-consensus-building process with the deadlock over the implementation modality of the July Charter unscrewed as the squabbling politicians agree on referendum.

The political parties and the National Consensus Commission, however, have yet to finalise the details of holding the referendum as some parties want it before the national elections while others want it simultaneously with the next February polls.

The development came at a meeting of political parties with the commission at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka on Sunday.

The commission will hold another meeting on October 8 on matters that include other unresolved issues involving the implementation and signing of the National Charter on major reforms in the polity.

"All political parties agreed to ensure public participation in the implementation of the July National Charter 2025 and to hold a referendum for their consent," Vice-Chairman of the commission Prof Ali Riaz told a news conference after the meeting.

He said this is the first step of the political parties towards implementing the national charter.

"Many political parties moved away from their own party positions to build a national consensus, and upon the discussions, the commission would soon send its recommendation to the government," he added.

Furthermore, the previous observation on seeking suggestions from the Supreme Court on the implementation method of the charter got revised in the latest meeting.

In Sunday's discussion, most political parties believed that it may not be necessary to seek the opinion of the Supreme Court for the implementation of the charter, he said.

Representatives of 28 political parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, and National Citizens Party (NCP), participated in the dialogue with the National Consensus Commission.

BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed told the reporters after the meeting that "a consensus is almost made" among the political parties on the path to sign and implement the national charter.

The government can proclaim an ordinance asking the election commission to hold a referendum, he suggests, adding that parliament is the only platform to implement people's will and a referendum is a strong will of the people that the lawmakers are constitutionally bound to follow.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, however, wants the referendum to be held before the national elections.

Party's Assistant Secretary-General A H M Hamidur Rahman Azad said while briefing the reporters that all political parties, including BNP, agree on a referendum to provide a legal basis for implementing the July Charter.

However, he said, their party wants a referendum before the elections.

Echoing the BNP leader's view, the Jamaat leader also said that if a referendum is held, it will never be challenged and even the parliament will not be able to reject it.

Meanwhile, preceding the dialogue with the political parties, the commission had a meeting with the head of interim government Prof Muhammad Yunus to update him on the developments in the consensus- building process.

Wrapping up discussions with political parties on the post-uprising changes, the National Consensus Commission will soon submit its final report to the interim government, Commission Vice-Chairman Professor Ali Riaz made the remark during the meeting with the Chief Adviser and commission chief.

The hour-long meeting, held at the state guesthouse Jamuna, reviewed the contents of the July Charter, the mechanisms for its implementation, and the positions of various political parties regarding the documentation of the 2024 student-mass uprising.

The Commission also briefed the meeting on its own stance and progress toward building a broad political consensus.

Chief Adviser Prof Yunus expressed satisfaction over the Commission's progress and appreciated its ongoing efforts "to promote political harmony".

Vice-Chairman Prof Ali Riaz said, "The Commission received extensive cooperation from all political parties." He also noted that the media provided "remarkable and unprecedented support" to the Commission's initiatives.

The Chief Adviser and Commission Chairman, Prof Yunus, thanked all Commission members for the political consensus-building on issues of recasting the polity and extended his best wishes.

He asked the Commission to update him at the earliest possible time on the final stages of its work and preparations for submitting the report.

Among those present at the meeting were Commission Vice-Chairman Ali Riaz and members Justice Md. Emdadul Haque, Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar and Dr Md. Aiyub Miah and Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser Monir Haidar.

Also in attendance were Interim Government Advisers Muhammad Fauzul Kabir Khan, Prof Asif Nazrul and Adilur Rahman Khan.

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