THE national consensus commission on August 16 sent the final draft of the July national charter 2025 to political parties, with a prologue that says that the document has been ‘unanimously’ worked out after a series of dialogues that the commission held with more than 30 political parties and alliances between March 20 and July 31. But what remains problematic is that an examination of the draft, as ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· reported on August 17, shows that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and several others hold notes of dissent on important reform issues meant to bring about qualitative changes in politics. The charter draft is composed of three components — a prologue that gives the background of the reforms initiatives, an 84-point set of reforms proposals that majority parties have agreed and a covenant. Whilst the prologue details the background of the reforms initiatives with a context of the July uprising, the covenant seeks the legal and political legitimacy of the July charter. Yet, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and some others have withheld assent for some important sections which suggests that the charter has not been fully unanimous, as has been claimed, which could create problems in the implementation of the charter.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party and some other political parties have given notes of dissent on the president’s appointing top officials of certain commissions and the central bank without consulting the prime minister, a constitutional bar on anyone from simultaneously holding the position of the prime minister and the party chief, the process for the formation of an election-time caretaker government, the composition of the upper house, the release of the final list of upper house candidates simultaneously with the list of lower house candidates, the amendment to Article 70 of the constitution, and the constitutionalisation of the appointment process for the Public Service Commission, the Anti Corruption Commission, the comptroller and auditor general and the ombudsman. This remains a prickly state of the implementation of the charter. The covenant says that the charter will be deemed constitutionally and legally binding and its validity, necessity or issuing authority will, therefore, not be questioned in any court. Yet, the final draft that the commission has distributed to the parties has not given any time frame or ways for the implementation of the charter although the covenant in an earlier draft of the charter given to the political parties on July 30 stated that the signatory parties should pledge the full implementation of the charter in two years inside the formation of the next parliament.
With notes of dissent on important reforms issues by political parties, chiefly the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and no time frame and means for the execution of the July charter, ways to effect effective reforms in politics and state governance might remain a far cry. The consensus commission should resolve all such issues.