July Charter: Referendum, constituent assembly among options discussed over implementation

People’s will must be relied upon to ensure sustainable implementation of the constitution-related proposals of the July National Charter. The way to verify people’s will is by conducting a referendum or the election of a constituent assembly.

According to sources, experts expressed this opinion in a meeting with the National Consensus Commission last Friday night. The meeting was held online.

Multiple sources present said the discussion brought forward the view that a referendum on constitutional reforms could be held on the same day as the national election. A constitutional order based on the July Charter could be issued, and a referendum held on that basis. If a constituent assembly or constitutional reform assembly is formed, that too could be organised alongside the national election.

In that case, the next parliament would serve both as the constituent assembly (or reform assembly) and as the national parliament. In addition, discussions were held on issuing a constitutional order based on the July Charter, as well as on seeking the Supreme Court’s opinion under Article 106 of the constitution regarding the implementation process.

Earlier, experts had also advised on the implementation procedure of the Charter. Their suggestion was that a constitutional order based on the July Charter could be issued, which would take immediate effect. Later, a referendum on this order could be held on the day of the national election.
However, no final decision has yet been made on the method of implementation.

Through two rounds of dialogue with political parties on the proposals from six reform commissions, consensus and decisions have already been reached on 84 issues. The July National Charter is being drafted on that basis. The main debate centers on how to implement the constitution-related proposals.

BNP favours implementing the constitutional proposals through the next parliament. It believes the Supreme Court’s opinion could be sought on whether reforms could be carried out in any way other than this.

Jamaat-e-Islami favours implementation by issuing a constitutional order and then holding a referendum. The National Citizen Party (NCP) supports the formation of a constituent assembly, arguing that such a body could also function as a regular parliament. Parties such as Rastra Sangskar Andolon and the Ganosamhati Andolon have also proposed the formation of a constitutional reform assembly. Some other parties favor seeking the Supreme Court’s opinion on the implementation of the Charter.

The National Consensus Commission began talks with political parties on 11 September regarding methods of implementation. Discussions were held for three days but no consensus was reached. Talks are currently adjourned and may resume on 4 or 5 October.

Against this backdrop, the Consensus Commission held a virtual meeting with experts on Friday night. According to a press release, the meeting discussed the feasibility of various proposals received from political parties—formation of a constituent assembly, issuance of a constitutional order, seeking the Supreme Court’s opinion under Article 106, and holding a referendum. The meeting resolved that the Consensus Commission would present the government with multiple recommendations regarding possible ways to implement the July Charter.

Commission member Badiul Alam Majumdar told Prothom Alo that the commission has again discussed with experts. Referendum, constituent assembly, issuance of constitutional order, and seeking the Supreme Court’s opinion—all these issues came up as possible ways of implementation. Decisions will be taken based on these.

According to the press release, participants in the discussion as experts included retired Appellate Division Justice MA Matin, retired Justice Mainul Islam Chowdhury, Dean of the Faculty of Law at Dhaka University Mohammad Ikramul Haque, senior Supreme Court advocates Sharif Bhuiyan, Tanim Hossain Shawon, and Imran Siddiq.

From the commission, Vice Chairman Professor Ali Riaz, members Badiul Alam Majumdar, retired Justice Md Emdadul Haque, Iftekharuzzaman, and Md Aiyub Mia participated. Monir Haidar, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser engaged in the national consensus-building process, was also involved.

When asked, Monir Haidar told Prothom Alo that the experts were particularly eager to ensure people’s will in implementing constitution-related reform proposals.