The fourth meeting of the National Consensus Commission鈥檚 second-round dialogue with political parties was adjourned on Wednesday as they could not reach a consensus on the proposed National Constitutional Council and presidential election process.
Chaired by NCC vice-chair Professor Ali Riaz, the meeting at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka city was attended by 30 political parties, including Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, and newly floated National Citizen Party.
Although the Jamaat boycotted the Tuesday meeting, a delegation led by its nayeb-e-amir Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher joined the Wednesday meeting.
On January 15, the Constitution Reform Commission proposed a nine-member National Constitutional Council comprising the president, prime minister, opposition leader, speakers and deputy speakers of a bicameral parliament, chief justice, and a lawmaker from outside both the treasury and opposition benches.
At the beginning of the Wednesday meeting, the NCC vice-chair explained that the council, if formed, would recommend candidates for the chiefs and commissioners of the National Election Commission, Bangladesh Public Service Commission, National Human Rights Commission, chief local government commissioner and others, including the attorney general and heads of armed forces.
The council would also recommend the chief adviser of the interim government.
Ali Riaz said that the council would ensure transparency and accountability in the appointments to constitutional bodies, adding that the three-fourths of the parties in the first round supported the idea.
BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed rejected the council in principle.
Dhaka University law professor Borhan Uddin, inducted by the BNP in its delegation as an expert, warned of bureaucratic entrapment and risk of parallel governance if the council is formed.
Their stance drew criticism from NCP joint convener Khaled Saifullah, who slammed BNP for rejecting both existing laws and the proposed alternative.
Other opponents of the council included Jatiyatabadi Samamana Jote鈥檚 Fariduzzaman Farhad, Islami Andolan鈥檚 Gazi Ataur Rahman, and 12 Party Alliance鈥檚 Shahadat Hossain Selim.
Communist Party of Bangladesh general secretary Ruhin Hossain Prince urged deferring the debate to the next Jatiya Sangsad.
Liberal Democratic Party chair Redwan Ahmed, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal general secretary Shahid Uddin Mahmod Shapon, and Bhashani Janashakti Party president Rafiqul Islam Bablu also commented on this aspect.
The parties that expressed conditional support included Jamaat, NCP, Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh, Ganosamhati Andolan, Nezam-e-Islam Party, Khelafat Majlish, Amar Bangladesh Party, Bangladesh Khelafat聽聽 Majlish, and Socialist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist).
Most of them proposed excluding the president and the chief justice from the council and limiting its role to appointing constitutional commission heads.
Ganosamhati Andolan chief coordinator Zonayed Saki and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam secretary general Maulana Manjurul Islam Afendi called for clarifying the council鈥檚 role.
Jamaat assistant secretary general Rafiqul Islam Khan and Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish secretary general Maulana Yusuf Ashraf supported the council with similar reservations.
Amid mixed responses, the NCC vice-chair adjourned the session until next week.
On presidential election process, the reform commission proposed an electoral college of 505 votes from the proposed National Assembly and Senate, 64 votes from district coordination councils, and one vote from each city corporation coordination council.
Ali Riaz said that nearly two-thirds of the parties in the first-round dialogue had agreed to the proposed electoral college.
On Wednesday, the NCC suggested including votes from local government representatives, numbering 70,000, in the electoral college. It further suggested including vote from each city corporation coordination council in the electoral college.
Some parties recommended revisions of the additional proposals.
The Bangladesh Liberal Democratic Party and the 12 Party Alliance preferred limiting votes to lawmakers and city mayors.
Gano Forum general secretary Mizanur Rahman opposed the inclusion of the district councils in the electoral college, calling it unconstitutional.
AB Party鈥檚 Sunny Abdul Haque proposed a temporary electoral college only for presidential elections while LDP鈥檚 Redwan Ahmed emphasised defining presidential powers first.
BNP鈥檚 Salahuddin Ahmed reiterated the BNP鈥檚 opposition to the proposal and demanded legal reforms to enhance the president鈥檚 role.
Jamaat鈥檚 Taher supported the proposal if local elections were held under a caretaker government.
Bangladesh Jatiya Dal鈥檚 Ehsanul Huda, Khelafat Majlish鈥檚 Ahmed Abdul Kader, and JSD鈥檚 Shahid Uddin Mahmod Shapon also spoke.
The meeting on presidential election was also adjourned.
Ali Riaz concluded the meeting by saying that discussions on electoral college would be aligned with broader debates on defining presidential powers. After his press briefing, politicians spoke to journalists.
NCP convener Nahid Islam, referring to the July uprising, urged consensus and proposed a referendum on unresolved reform proposals.
Today, the NCC will host the sixth-day meeting of the second-round dialogue at the same venue.
Discussions on the adjourned topics, tenure of the prime minister and the state鈥檚 fundamental principles are the agenda of today鈥檚 meeting, said a NCC press release.
