July National Charter: Parties ready to sign, but await final draft

Despite differences over the implementation process and timing of the referendum, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP), have prepared to sign the July National Charter 2025.

The July Charter is a reform framework initiated by the National Consensus Commission under the interim government.

However, all parties say they will take a final decision after reviewing the complete draft of the charter.

According to BNP sources, the party has already finalised its signatories: secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed, who led BNP’s discussions with the National Consensus Commission.

The BNP leaders believe the July Charter will serve as a new foundation for constitutional and state reforms. The party maintains that holding the referendum on the same day as the national election would be the most practical and cost-effective approach.

Speaking about this, Salahuddin Ahmed told Prothom Alo on Friday, “Our proposal — to hold the referendum on the day of the national election — is the most balanced and inclusive. Almost everyone agrees with it.”

Jamaat-e-Islami has also chosen two senior leaders, naib-e-ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher and secretary general Mia Golam Porwar, as its potential signatories.

Citing the “experience of its demands being sidelined” in the earlier July Declaration, the party says it is proceeding more cautiously this time.

Mia Golam Porwar said, “We’ll decide after seeing how consensus and differing views are reflected in the charter and how the referendum is structured and timed.”

Jamaat has demanded the inclusion of a proportional representation system (PR) in both houses of parliament and plans to meet Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus soon to discuss its concerns.

“We shall sign the July Charter after watching what’s written there,” Jamaat leader Abdullah Mohammad Taher told Prothom Alo.

The National Citizen Party (NCP), founded by youth leaders from the July mass uprising, has also selected its signatories, convener Nahid Islam and member secretary Akhter Hossen.

Party joint convener Jabed Rasin said they have yet to receive the final copy of the charter and details of its implementation process. “If the NCP decides to sign, Nahid Islam and Akhter Hossen will attend the signing ceremony,” he said on Friday.

Other parties, Nagorik Oikya, Ganosamhati Andolan, and the Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party, are also preparing to sign the Charter.

Their designated signatories include: Nagorik Oikya president Mahmudur Rahman Manna and general secretary Shahidullah Kaiser, Gonosamhati Andolan’s chief coordinator Zonayed Saki and general secretary Abul Hasan Rubel; AB Party’s chairman Mojibur Rahman Monju and general secretary Asaduzzaman Fuad.

Zonayed Saki said, “Our names have been submitted, but we’ll decide finally after reviewing the charter.”

The July National Charter 2025 signing ceremony will be held at the South Plaza of the National Parliament on 15 October. The event will be led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, and representatives of various political parties and alliances are expected to attend.

While the date is fixed, the mechanism and schedule of the referendum remain unsettled.

The charter — which consolidates a year’s worth of discussions on constitutional and state reforms — is intended to symbolise broad-based political consensus.

However, parties remain divided over when the referendum should take place. BNP and its allies prefer holding it on election day, citing efficiency and stability; Jamaat, NCP and others want it before the election, arguing it would ensure clearer public engagement.

With the final draft expected within days, all eyes are now on whether the July Charter can indeed become the symbol of national consensus it aims to be, or whether disputes over the referendum’s timing will test that unity.