The interim government is expected to issue The July National Charter (Reform of Constitution) Implementation Order 2025 shortly, incorporating provisions to hold the 13th Jatiya Sangsad elections and a referendum on the charter the same day.
According to advisers and officials at the Chief Adviser鈥檚 Office, the outline of the July charter implementation order might be finalised at the advisory council meeting today, after incorporating the opinions of all parties.
Chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus is expected to address the nation after the meeting today.
Senior officials involved in the process said that the government would not engage in formal discussions with any political party before issuing the implementation order.
However, several advisers have continued informal talks with party leaders, particularly from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, and the National Citizen Party, to finalise the order鈥檚 contents.
They also said that the implementation order would not include the notes of dissent from parties on various reform proposals for the referendum.
Instead, it would stipulate that the party securing a parliamentary majority in the elections would decide on such matters through discussions in parliament.
The provision requiring the Jatiya Sangsad to implement the July Charter reforms within 270 days of its formation is also likely to be omitted, sources said.
Government sources indicated that while the proposal for introducing a proportional representation system for the upper house would remain, the same system would not apply to the lower house.
The National Consensus Commission had earlier, on 28 October, submitted a July Charter implementation road map to the interim government and political parties, disregarding the notes of dissent from several parties on constitutional reform issues.
The commission suggested two possible approaches to implementing 48 proposed constitutional reforms within 270 days.
The first would have the interim government to present the reforms as a bill before the referendum, allowing them to take effect automatically if not approved by the Jatiya Sangsad within 270 days.
The second would require the newly elected parliament to approve the reforms, mandated by the referendum, within the same timeframe.
The BNP and its allies rejected the road map, calling some of its provisions 鈥榓bsurd,鈥� while the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party welcomed it.
An emergency advisory council meeting on November 2, with chief adviser Muhammad Yunus in the chair, urged the political parties to reach consensus within a week on July Charter key issues, particularly concerning the scope and timing of the referendum.
The council warned that if the parties failed to reach an agreement, the government would proceed independently.
The week-long period expired on November 9 without any breakthrough, and several Islamic parties, led by the Jamaat, took to the streets to demand the implementation of the charter before the next JS polls.
Against this backdrop, the BNP Standing Committee held a meeting on Monday night at the party chair鈥檚 office, with acting chair Tarique Rahman in the chair.
The meeting extensively discussed and evaluated the draft July Charter implementation order.
At a press conference on Tuesday, a day after the meeting, the party warned that if the government made any decision outside the charter signed on October 17, none of the signatory parties would be obliged to accept it.
The BNP also urged the government to refrain from deviating from the signed agreement and cautioned that any decision made beyond the scope of the agreed July National Charter 2025 would be the sole responsibility of the interim government.
The Jamaat-led Islamic parties on Tuesday had sought a meeting with the chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus but the government was yet to respond.
The Islamic parties on Wednesday threatened to stage an indefinite sit-in in front of the chief adviser鈥檚 residence at Jamuna, unless the government met their demands 鈥� which includes issuing the July National Charter implementation order and holding a referendum on it.
At a joint press conference at the Al-Falah Auditorium at Moghbazar, Jamaat nayeb-e-amir Mujibur Rahman announced the programme.
However, law adviser Asif Nazrul on Tuesday had said that the government鈥檚 steps regarding the implementation of the July National Charter 2025 would become clear within the next three to four days.
Following a discussion on the Legal Aid (Amendment) Ordinance at the Judicial Administration Training Institute in Dhaka, the law adviser told reporters that although political parties were expected to hold discussions among themselves and provide a unified direction, the government had not remained passive.
鈥榃e have acted independently. Within three to four days, it will be clear what measures we have taken regarding the Charter鈥檚 implementation,鈥� Asif Nazrul said.
鈥榃e are coordinating with the expectations of all parties to ensure that whatever steps we take are in the best interest of the country and its people,鈥� he added.