Differing positions of major political parties on proportional representation in Jatiya Sangsad and the appointment of chief adviser to the election-time caretaker government are expected to stay as challenges in the upcoming dialogue sessions of the National Consensus Commission.
Although previous consensus dialogue sessions hosted by the Constitution Reform Commission and the NCC resulted in a broad agreement on introducing a bicameral parliament, the parties remain split into two camps on how to establish such a parliament.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has supported the CRC-proposed bicameral Jatiya Sangsad but recommended a first-past-the-post or direct election system for the lower house and a secured-seats-based proportional representation system for the upper house.
Conversely, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, and several other parties have opted for proportional representation in both houses based on vote shares obtained in the election.
While NCC vice-chair Professor Ali Riaz noted that over two-thirds of the parties supported the bicameral parliament proposal, he struggled to unify all parties under a common framework.
BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed, who is leading the party鈥檚 delegation in the dialogue, alleged on Saturday that those pushing for the PR method may be attempting to delay or obstruct the upcoming national election.
BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi further warned on Thursday that the PR system could hinder the development of grassroots leadership and lead to the emergence of more autocrats.
On June 28, the IAB presented a 16-point declaration at a rally in Dhaka鈥檚 Suhrawardy Udyan, demanding PR in the national parliament.
IAB presidium member Ashraf Ali Akon recently said, 鈥極ur party will not support a bicameral parliament if the PR system is not applied to the lower house.鈥�
During the NCC dialogue last week, he pointed out that several parties, including the Jamaat, Amar Bangladesh Party, and Communist Party of Bangladesh, had also demanded PR in the lower house.
On November 25 last year, the Jamaat submitted a written proposal to the CRC, seeking a combination of direct election and PR聽 in parliament.
The party later revised its stance, recommending vote share-based PR in both houses. The Jamaat maintained this position during the second-round dialogue.
Initially opposing a bicameral parliament, the AB Party later shifted its stance.
Its joint secretary general Suny Abdul Haque recently said, 鈥楩or a greater consensus, we agreed to a bicameral parliament. But we will reconsider our support if PR based on vote share is not implemented in the lower house.鈥�
The Nationalist Citizen Party also supports vote share-based PR in the upper house. 鈥榃e recommend the first-past-the-post system for the lower house,鈥� said NCP joint convener Javed Rasin.
CPB central committee secretary Sajedul Huq Rubel said that the party had been campaigning for PR since 1996.
However, he added, 鈥楾he CPB has opposed the bicameral proposal. In view of the post-July uprising context, we now recommend the first-past-the-post system instead of PR.鈥�
During the first-round dialogue, most political parties supported reinstating a non-partisan caretaker government for holding the national election.
However, no agreement has been reached on who would serve as the chief adviser to the caretaker government or how the post would be filled.
On July 2, the NCC proposed reinstating the 13th amendment to the constitution, which introduced a non-partisan caretaker government through article 58(C) of the constitution in 1996.
The amendment was abolished by the ousted Awami League regime through the 15th amendment in 2011.
The NCC further proposed that the president should appoint either the last retired chief justice, or the second-last retired chief justice, or the last retired Appellate Division judge, or any eligible person nominated by major parties as the chief adviser.
In the absence of a qualified candidate, the president should act as the chief adviser, as per the NCC proposal.
The BNP, along with the CPB, Socialist Party of Bangladesh and IAB, supported the proposal.
The Jamaat also backed reinstating the 13th amendment, but raised concerns over the president assuming the role as the chief adviser.
Parties like the NCP and Rashtra Sangskar Andolan opposed the proposal.
NCP鈥檚 Javed Rasin said that his party supported neither a judicial figure nor the president as the caretaker chief adviser.
Instead, the NCP proposed forming an all-party parliamentary committee to nominate a potential chief adviser, with the upper house stepping in if consensus is not reached.
Beyond the issues of PR and the chief adviser鈥檚 appointment, the NCC has also struggled to forge consensus on other critical topics, including the state鈥檚 fundamental principles, the presidential election system, a constitutional and statutory appointments committee, term limits for the prime minister, and women鈥檚 representation in Jatiya Sangsad.
Since launching the second-round dialogue on June 2, the NCC has reached consensus on reform of article 70, four opposition-led parliamentary standing committees, delimitation of constituencies every 10 years or after each census, reforming article 49 to regulate presidential clemency by laws and amending article 100 to allow permanent High Court seats at divisional headquarters.