Most political parties on Tuesday expressed support for amending Article 70 of the constitution to allow members of parliament to vote independently on all issues except the finance bill and no-confidence motion.
While the National Consensus Commission proposed a third exception 鈥� constitutional amendments 鈥� consensus on that point was not fully reached, with further discussions expected.
Some parties suggested that national security, presidential impeachment, and support for the president should be other exceptions.
According to Article 70 of the existing constitution, a party-nominated elected parliamentarian shall vacate his or her seat if he or she either resigns from that party or votes in parliament against that party.
Leaders emphasised the need for parliamentary reforms, particularly ensuring a balanced structure in standing committees with opposition members chairing the positions on key areas such as finance, foreign affairs, and planning.
A framework was sought to ensure functionality and accountability.
On women鈥檚 representation, most parties supported expanding Jatiya Sangsad to 400 seats, including 100 reserved for women, though opinions varied on how those seats should be allocated.
Discussions also centred around the tenure and role of the caretaker government, the need for prime ministerial accountability, and local government elections.
Parties agreed to continue discussions after Eid, with the goal of finalising a national charter by July,聽 acknowledging unresolved issues where consensus could not be achieved.
The NCC on Tuesday started the second-round dialogue with political parties to identify and preserve areas where all parties can reach at least a minimum level of agreement.
Among the topics discussed was Article 70 of the constitution, reserved seats for women in JS, the formation of permanent parliamentary committees and the tenure of government, and mechanisms for an effective implementation of these measures.
The meeting was attended by representatives from 30 political parties.
Regarding parliamentary committees, political parties emphasised ensuring a balanced structure, proposing that key committees 鈥� including those on finance, foreign affairs, and planning 鈥� be chaired by opposition members.
A framework was sought to determine the number of such positions to maintain accountability and functionality.
On women鈥檚 representation, most parties agreed on expanding parliament to 400 seats, including 100 reserved for women.
However, opinions differed on how these seats should be allocated. Discussions on all issues are expected to continue to build a broader consensus.
The issues would be farther discussed after the Eid vacation, political leaders said.
鈥榃e have chosen the path of collective dialogue so that positions can evolve through mutual reasoning and analysis. With that in mind, we aim to establish a workable framework,鈥� NCC vice-chair Ali Riaz said in his opening remarks.
He said that their goal was to finalise the national charter by July.
Any issues not agreed upon would be acknowledged in the final document as topics of discussion where no consensus was reached, he further said.
During the discussion on amending Article 70, political leaders raised issues such as presidential impeachment and support for the president.
They also emphasised the need to establish mechanisms to ensure the prime minister鈥檚 accountability, including through confidence votes and internal party proposals for leadership change.
Regarding Article 70 of the constitution, BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said that their party wanted national security matters should be included alongside confidence votes, money bills, and constitutional amendments as exceptions, allowing the MPs to vote independently on all other issues.
He said that the BNP did not agree to the proposal to include the main opposition party in all parliamentary standing committees, noting that while it might be feasible for a few committees, they did not consider it a realistic or practical approach overall.
Regarding the tenure of the election-time caretaker government, Salahuddin said that the BNP proposed a three-month term and demanded that the caretaker government should conduct only the national elections.
Jamaat-e-Islami聽 nayeb-e- amir Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher said that they had聽 given their opinion in favour of allowing MPs to vote outside the party鈥檚 decision on all issues except the finance bill,聽 confidence motion and constitutional amendment by amending Article 70 of the constitution.
He said the Jaamat also voted in favour of holding local government elections alongside the national parliamentary elections under a non-partisan caretaker government.
NCP joint convener Sarwar Tushar said that his party was in favour of amending Article 70 to allow the members of parliament to vote on all issues except the money bill and confidence vote outside the party鈥檚 decision.
He said that the provision should not apply to constitutional amendments, as past amendments introduced by parties had already caused many crises in Bangladesh, and that the matter deserved further discussion.
The NCP also demanded local government elections along with national elections under a non-partisan caretaker government.
Ganosamhati Andolan chief coordinator Zonayed Saki called for major reforms to Article 70 of the constitution, arguing that it undermines parliamentary democracy by preventing the MPs from voting independently or challenging party leadership, including the prime minister.
Questioning whether the MPs are accountable to the people or their party, Saki criticised the current system for shielding the prime minister from scrutiny.
Saki urged the inclusion of mechanisms such as confidence votes and internal proposals for leadership change to ensure accountability.
AB Party president Mujibur Rahman Manju agreed to all the three proposals of the commission for amending Article 70 for democratic reform.
While consensus was reached on the first two, he expressed openness to compromise on constitutional amendments to build lasting national unity.
Regarding the amendment to Article 70, Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh secretary general Saiful Haque said that most of the parties agreed on two proposals, including allowing the MPs to vote outside the party鈥檚 decision on all issues except the finance bill and no confidence motion.
Chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Monday inaugurated the second round of dialog with the political parties with the aim to reach a consensus on state reforms and also to finalise the July Charter.
During the inaugural event at the Foreign Service Academy, most political parties demanded an election road map without further delay.
