In the last dialogue session, the National Consensus Commission on Thursday reached consensus on the election of the president and delivered final decisions on an upper house with proportional representation and the appointment of top officials in key institutions amid opposition from several parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
Amid debates on the procedures of legalising the consensus-based July Charter, NCC vice-chair Professor Ali Riaz, while briefing journalists at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, said that the primary and fundamental responsibility for implementing the charter should lie with the political parties.
He said that the NCC would require a few more days to finalise the draft charter and a suggestion on how to implement it. 鈥楾he political parties will be provided with the draft soon,鈥� he said without giving any specific date.
In the concluding session of the NCC鈥檚 second-round dialogue, 30 political parties discussed the provisioning of the appointments of the top officials at the Public Service Commission, the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Comptroller and Auditor General, and the Ombudsman in the constitution, the election and powers of the president, the formation of an upper house, and the fundamental principles of the state.
The NCC announced a 100-seat upper house composed of shared votes-based proportional representatives.
The BNP, Jatiyatabadi Samamana Jote, 12-Party Alliance, Nationalist Democratic Party, Amjanatar Dal put their notes of dissent while the Communist Party of Bangladesh, Socialist Party of Bangladesh, Jamiat Ulama e Islam abstained from discussing the issue.
According to the NCC decision, the upper house will not have the authority to enact laws independently. However, except for money bills, all other bills must be聽 presented in both the lower and upper houses. The upper house would not be able to permanently block any bill. If a bill is held up for more than one month it shall be considered approved by the upper house.
Following further discussions, the NCC also announced that the president shall be elected by a majority of secret votes of the members of the lower and the upper houses of the parliament. The parties agreed to the point.
For contesting the presidential election, the qualifications mentioned in article 48(4) of the existing constitution shall apply. Additionally, a new sub-clause (D) shall be added to article 48(4), stating that at the time of contesting for the office of president, no individual shall hold any position in the state, government, or political party, or organisation.
The NCC also announced that the parties, except the BNP and its like-minded allies, agreed to provisioning the appointment process of the PSC, ACC, CAG and the Ombudsman in the constitution.
The NCC proposed that the president would independently appoint the attorney general, the chair and members of the National Human Rights Commission, Information Commission, University Grant Commission, Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission, Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, and the chairs of the Bangladesh Press Council, Law Commission, the Bangladesh Bank governor, and the chiefs of the Armed Forces, DGFI and NSI.
Following debates, Ali Riaz said that majority parties, with dissents, agreed that the president would appoint the NHRC, IC, and BERC chairs and members, the chairs of the Press Council, Law Commission, the BB governor without suggestions from the prime minister.
Regarding the state鈥檚 fundamental principles, the NCC proposed equality, human dignity, social justice, religious freedom and harmony, and democracy would be mentioned in the constitution.
Ali Riaz said, 鈥楾he next parliament will decide whether the existing four principles remain intact or should be changed as the fifth amendment.鈥�
Protesting against the NCC proposal, the CPB and Bangladesh Jasod boycotted the proceedings while the Ganosamhati Forum and JSD expressed their dissents.
The BNP, Jamaat and other parties agreed to the proposal.
The NCC also announced that a selection committee for appointing the chief adviser, comprising the speaker, the prime minister, the leader of the opposition, the deputy speaker, and a representative from the third-largest party in parliament would finalise the caretaker government鈥檚 chief adviser.
The ruling and opposition parties would each propose five names, and the third-largest party would propose two, making a total of 12 nominees to the selection committee. The committee would submit one name to the president either unanimously or by a 4-1 majority vote.
If the committee fails to reach a decision, two judges from the Appellate Division and the High Court Division would be added to the committee. They would then select a candidate from the 12 using the ranked-choice method. If that too fails, the provisions of the 13th amendment would be followed. In this case, the president cannot be appointed as the chief adviser.
However, the BNP, and its like-minded parties, opposed the inclusion of judges in the selection committee and the use of the ranked-choice method.
