Referendum must be held earlier even if parliament election is delayed: Jamaat leader Taher

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s nayeb-e-ameer, Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher, has said that while he hopes the upcoming national election will be held on time, the implementation of the July National Charter should not be delayed under any circumstances.

He demanded that the national referendum be held first, even if the parliamentary election is postponed due to some reasons.

He made the remarks on Wednesday at a briefing held at the party’s central office in Moghbazar, Dhaka, following a meeting with a visiting Commonwealth delegation led by Linford Andrews, adviser to the Commonwealth’s Electoral Support Division and head of the Pre-Election Assessment mission.

The delegation also included Dinusha Panditaratne, Nancy Kanyago, Sarthak Rai and Madonna Lynch.

Representing Jamaat at the meeting were the party’s secretary general, Mia Golam Porwar, assistant secretary general ATM Masum, and central publicity and media secretary Matiur Rahman Akand, among others.

At the briefing, Abdullah Taher said, “If, for any reason, the national election cannot be held on time — though we hope, Inshallah, that it will — the July Charter must still be passed. The Charter itself represents reform. Therefore, linking the two processes together is not right and could push the Charter into uncertainty.”

Taher reiterated that the referendum must be held before the national election, not on the same day. He urged the government to immediately announce a date for the referendum.

He noted that the National Consensus Commission had already recommended to the government that the referendum be held either before or on election day.

“The referendum before the national election is the right approach,” Taher said. “The referendum concerns the reform process, while the election determines state power — the two are of completely different character.”

Taher called on the government to promptly issue an order regarding the establishment of the National Constitutional Council (NCC), saying that once such an order is issued, the referendum could be held soon afterward.

He suggested that if the date were announced in the first week of November, the referendum could be held by the end of the month. “It will not require as much time or cost as a national election,” he added.

He predicted that the referendum would generate “a wave of voter enthusiasm,” explaining that political parties supporting reform and the ‘Yes’ vote would mobilise voters en masse.

Taher urged the government to conduct the referendum first and then move on to preparations for the national election.

He also demanded that CCTV cameras be installed at all polling centres, saying, “Some people are opposing this, and their intentions are questionable.”

He further said, “Law enforcement agencies, including the army, RAB, and BGB ,should be deployed at polling stations. Jamaat will continue to demand a free, fair, and accountable election.”

In response to a question, Abdullah Taher said that if the referendum and election were held on the same day, political parties would be preoccupied with trying to ensure victory for their candidates, thereby diminishing the importance of the referendum itself.