Upcoming election must be a constituent assembly election

Leaders of the National Citizen Party (NCP) have called on the Chief Adviser of the interim government, Professor Muhammad Yunus, to hold a constituent assembly election in order to provide a legal foundation for the July Charter.

This appeal was made during a meeting between NCP leaders and the Chief Adviser at his official residence, Jamuna.

After the meeting, Ariful Islam Adib, Senior Joint Convener of the NCP, spoke to journalists outside Jamuna and shared this information.

Hasnat Abdullah, Chief Organizer (Southern Region); Tasnim Jara, Senior Joint Member Secretary; and Abdul Hannan Masud, Senior Joint Chief Coordinator of the NCP were also present.

On the government side, the Chief Adviser was joined by law  adviser Asif Nazrul, industries adviser Adilur Rahman Khan, and national security adviser Khalilur Rahman.

Ariful Islam told journalists: "To provide the July Charter with a legal and constitutional foundation, the upcoming election must be a constituent assembly election. Through this election, we believe a permanent solution can be found to Bangladesh’s long-standing 54- or 55-year crisis — the rise of an authoritarian mindset and a personality-centric power structure. This constituent assembly should draft a new constitution for the country."

The NCP leader also said that those who were martyred or injured during the mass uprising in July have yet to receive proper rehabilitation, medical treatment, or security. The party has called on the government to ensure the rehabilitation and safety of the families of the martyrs and the injured.
The NCP also urged the government to help repatriate individuals still detained in the United Arab Emirates for participating in rallies supporting the July uprising.

In addition, the leaders of the National Citizen Party (NCP) urged the Chief Adviser to take clear and decisive action against members of state agencies who have been accused in the Enforced Disappearances Commission's report.

They also requested Professor Muhammad Yunus to play an active role in ensuring the capacity and neutrality of the election commission.

During the meeting, the NCP leaders expressed their support for banning the activities of the Jatiya Party.

On this issue, Ariful Islam stated, "There is no difference between the Jatiya Party and the Awami League. Since the organisational activities of the Awami League have already been suspended by the state, and we see that the Jatiya Party is openly supporting efforts to bring a banned organisation like the Awami League into the election... we urged the Chief Adviser to take more effective steps to suspend the organisational activities of the Jatiya Party as well."