July Charter
NCP considers Consensus Commission recommendations positively
The National Citizen Party (NCP) has said it views positively the recommendations submitted by the National Consensus Commission on the means of implementing the July National Charter.
In an immediate reaction given to Prothom Alo on Tuesday night, Ariful Islam Adeeb, the NCP’s senior joint convenor, said, “We view positively the exclusion of the effectiveness of notes of dissent in the referendum, the decision to place the entire Charter for a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ vote, and the issuance of an order based on the people’s uprising.”
The NCP leader further said, “The decision to retain the Constitutional Reform Council for 270 days is also positive. However, we have not yet received the full copy of the order. We had earlier proposed naming the reformed constitution as the ‘Amended Constitution, 2026.’”
Regarding the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s dissatisfaction with the Commission’s recommendations, Ariful Islam Adeeb remarked that the BNP tends to perceive issues unfavourable to them as attempts to create division.
“On most of the issues where the majority of political parties in the National Consensus Commission reached agreement, the BNP took a contrary position. In particular, on the issue of the proportional representation (PR) system for the upper house of parliament, 25 parties were in agreement, while the BNP and NDM were not,” he pointed out.
The NCP leader added that, on the matter of fundamental reforms, 25 to 28 of the 30 participating parties were in agreement, whereas the BNP and a few of its like-minded allies disagreed.
“We also view as positive the decision to hold the referendum on the July Charter before the national election,” he continued. “Through the referendum, many central decisions will be settled, paving the way for the new Bangladesh based on the reforms.”
Ariful Islam Adeeb also mentioned that the NCP may hold an internal meeting within a day or two to discuss whether the party will sign the July Charter. “No decision has been taken on this matter yet,” he added.