The National Consensus Commission on Saturday sent the final draft of the July National Charter 2025 to political parties, with a prologue stating that the document was 鈥榰nanimously鈥� formulated after a series of dialogues with political parties.
A scrutiny of the draft, however, shows that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and several others recorded dissenting notes on key reform points meant to bring qualitative change to the country鈥檚 politics.
The consensus commission is set to begin a fresh dialogue with political parties on the draft.
鈥楶olitical parties were requested to provide their feedback within the next three days,鈥� said NCC vice-chair Professor Ali Riaz.
The draft charter is divided into three parts: a prologue outlining the background of reform initiatives, an 84-point list of reform proposals accepted by the majority of parties, and a covenant.
The prologue details the background of reforms, with a historical context of the July uprising.
It also states that the commission held a series of dialogues with more than 30 parties and alliances between March 20 and July 31, and says,鈥橝s a result of this process, the following 鈥淛uly National Charter 2025鈥� was unanimously formulated.鈥�
Yet, within the 鈥�84 reform points that garnered consensus鈥� it is noted that the BNP and other parties voiced dissent on major issues.
Section 11 of the charter says that the president can appoint top officials of the National Human Rights Commission, Information Commission, Bangladesh Press Council, Law Commission, Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Bangladesh Bank governor without consulting the prime minister.
The BNP, the National Democratic Party, Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam, Bangladesh Labour Party, Liberal Democratic Party, and 12-Parties Alliance registered their dissent on this provision.
Section 15 proposes a constitutional bar to anyone holding the positions of prime minister and party chief simultaneously. This was opposed by the BNP,聽 NDM, 12-Parties Alliance, and Jatiyatabadi Samamana Jote.
Section 20 deals with the formation and the tenure of an election-time caretaker government. As per the July 29 NCC decision, a selection committee comprising the speaker, prime minister, opposition leader, deputy speaker, and a representative from the third-largest party in the parliament would select the caretaker government chief adviser.
The process would include shortlisting aspirants and finalising the candidate either by consensus or by a 4-1 voting or in a ranked-choice voting.
The BNP turned down the ranked-choice method and instead proposed parliamentary intervention if a consensus cannot be reached.
The BNP and NDM also opposed section 21(B), which sets the upper house composition, stipulating that 100 members be elected through proportional representation based on vote share in the lower house.
Both parties further opposed section 21(D), which requires parties to release the final list of the upper house candidates simultaneously with their lower house candidate list. The list must include at least 10 per cent women candidates.
Section 28 suggests amending article 70 of the constitution to allow lawmakers to vote freely, except on money bills and no-confidence motions, even against their party line.
The BNP dissented, recommending that voting restrictions should also apply to constitutional amendments and national security bills.
The BNP, NDM, 12-Parties Alliance, and Jatiyatabadi Samamana Dal objected to provisions in sections 55, 56, 57, 58 that propose constitutionalising the appointment processes for the Public Service Commission, Anti-Corruption Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General, and Ombudsman.
The covenant underscores the legal and political legitimacy of the July uprising.
It defines the document as the supreme expression of the people鈥檚 will, pledging that the signatory parties will incorporate all provisions into the constitution and recognise the charter as superior to the existing laws.
The covenant also grants the Supreme Court Appellate Division the authority to interpret the charter clauses.
鈥楾he charter shall be deemed constitutionally and legally binding; hence, its validity, necessity, or issuing authority shall not be questioned in any court,鈥� the covenant declares.
In an earlier template that the National Consensus Commission shared with political parties on July 30, the covenant part had points that the signatory parties should pledge to fully implement the charter provisions within two years of the next parliament鈥檚 formation.
However, the final draft has no timeline mentioned.
鈥楩ollowing suggestions from several political parties, the commission has not set any timeline to implement the charter,鈥� Professor Riaz said.