NCP not to join July Charter signing event without legal basis: Nahid Islam

National Citizen Party (NCP) convener Nahid Islam has said that signing the July Charter without a legal foundation would be a mere formality.

According to him, without a legal basis and assurance of an official order, signing the July Charter would be meaningless.

“For this reason, the NCP will not participate in tomorrow’s July Charter signing event,” he stated.

Nahid Islam made these remarks at a press conference held at the NCP headquarters in the capital’s Banglamotor on Thursday.

The NCP said that during the drafting of the latest July Declaration, the issue of legal foundation was also raised. “It is not enough for a few political parties to sit together, hold lengthy discussions, and reach a consensus on some issues,” he said.

“The political parties must guarantee that they will implement those agreements once in power. The process and discussions under the National Consensus Commission that emerged after the mass uprising must have a legal basis,” Nahid added.

Nahid Islam has said that the ceremony scheduled for tomorrow will involve the formal signing of the July Charter, but that the act will be largely symbolic, not legal.

Speaking about the upcoming event, he stated, “What is going to happen tomorrow is the signing of the July Charter. However, unless a formal government order is issued giving it legal effect, the signing will be only a ceremonial formality. The July Charter itself has already been finalised. All political parties have reached a consensus on the main framework and discussed the areas of change. Some parties, however, have recorded notes of dissent on certain points, and they have every right to do so.”

Referring to what he called “deception” over the July Declaration, Nahid Islam said, “Before the July Declaration, there had been demands that it must have a legal foundation. That did not happen. The text of the July Declaration was altered — the final version read during the announcement was not the same as the one we were shown earlier. It became a heavily compromised document.”

He went on to say, “We do not want to witness another event that has no real meaning. If we sign the Charter without any legal foundation or assurance of a government order, it will be meaningless. We have no guarantee of what legal order the government will issue later. Until we are sure of this issue, we will not participate in tomorrow’s July Charter signing ceremony.”

Differences over how to implement the July National Charter have created uncertainty over whether all political parties will ultimately sign it.

Against this backdrop, the National Consensus Commission convened an urgent meeting with political parties on Wednesday evening.

During the meeting, held in the presence of chief adviser professor Muhammad Yunus, the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the NCP reiterated their firm positions on the mechanism of implementation.

However, Muhammad Yunus stated during the meeting that the July National Charter will be signed tomorrow, Friday, and that the national election will be held in February as planned.