The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the newly-formed National Citizen Party have suggested different approaches to implementing the proposed bicameral legislature.
In its response to the National Consensus Commission鈥檚 166-point recommendations 鈥� compiled by five reform commissions, the BNP has stated that it supports the idea of a bicameral legislature in principle but has recommended a five-year tenure for the legislature.
The Constitution Reform Commission has proposed a four-year tenure for the bicameral legislature, comprising a 400-member lower house and a 105-member upper house.
The Jamaat, too, has favoured a five-year tenure for a two-chamber parliament.
It has, however, recommended that the upper house be vested with a greater authority, compared to the authority proposed by the commission.
But the NCP has unconditionally backed the commission鈥檚 recommendation for its authority.
The reform commission has proposed that 300 members of the lower house be directly elected from single territorial constituencies.
It has also proposed that 100 women members be elected in designated constituencies across all the districts of the country through direct elections, with only women candidates contesting.
The NCP has accepted this proposal without reservation.
The BNP, in contrast, has supported the direct election of the 300 lower house members but has opined that the decision regarding the method of electing the 100 women members should be determined by the next parliament.
Jamaat has taken a different view, suggesting that the 300 lower house members should be elected through a proportional representation system.
It has further proposed that the 50 reserved seats for women be filled by nominations by political parties based on their share聽 of the vote.
According to the reform commission, the upper house should consist of 105 members.
While the NCP has unconditionally agreed to this proposal, Jamaat has suggested that the upper house comprises 100 members.
The BNP has partially agreed, adding a note that the matter should be discussed by the next parliament.
The commission has further recommended that 100 of the 105 upper house members be elected in proportion to the total number of votes cast in the lower house elections.
The president would nominate the remaining five members from among citizens who are neither members of the legislature nor affiliated with any political party.
The NCP has agreed to the recommendation but has suggested that party-nominated candidates for the upper house be announced prior to the lower house elections.
The Jamaat has opposed the idea of presidential nominations, while the BNP is also in favour of the next parliament deciding the issue.
About how to turn the existing unicameral legislature into a bicameral one, the NCP has proposed that the bicameral legislature be implemented by a parliament elected jointly as a constituent assembly and a national assembly, according to the new party鈥檚 joint convener Sarwar Tushar.
Jamaat鈥檚 secretary general, Mia Golam Parwar, has said his party does not support the idea of a constituent assembly.
鈥楾he parliament should address issues related to constitutional reform,鈥� he has told 抖阴精品 recently.
Similarly, the BNP has stated in its feedback that the decision on establishing a bicameral legislature should be left to the next parliament.
Presently, according to observers, the BNP, the Jamaat and the NCP are the three popular political parties in the country. Of them, Jamaat and NCP are unregistered parties.
In 2018, the Election Commission cancelled the registration of Jamaat. The party鈥檚 registration issue is now pending with the Supreme Court鈥檚 Appellate Division.
The NCP has not yet applied for its registration.