Campaigning for ‘yes’ without signing July Charter: what is NCP’s position?

The National Citizen Party (NCP) has not signed the July National Charter. However, the party has begun campaigning in favour of a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum on the charter to be held on the day of the parliamentary election on 12 February.

Although the NCP has decided to contest 30 seats in the 13th National Parliamentary Election, it is appointing ‘ambassadors’ or representatives in the remaining 270 constituencies to campaign for a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum.

After seven months of discussions with 33 political parties and alliances under the National Consensus Commission, the ‘July National Charter, 2025’ was signed at an event held at the South Plaza of the Parliament Complex in Dhaka on 17 October last year.

On that day, 24 parties signed the charter, and another party signed it later. However, the NCP did not attend the signing ceremony and has not signed the charter since.

A day before the signing ceremony, on 16 October, National Consensus Commission vice chairman Professor Ali Riaz said at a press conference that any political party that did not sign the July National Charter would have the opportunity to sign it at a later stage.

Regarding its decision not to sign the charter, the NCP held a press conference at the time and placed three demands; first, the draft of the July Charter implementation order must be published before the signing ceremony, and the order must be issued by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus.

Second, if the people give a verdict in favour of the charter in the referendum, the note of dissent will have no effect. Third, in line with the referendum verdict, the next elected parliament will carry out constitutional reforms using the structural authority vested in it, and the reformed constitution will be named the ‘Constitution of Bangladesh, 2026’.

The NCP did not sign the charter afterward either. However, on 13 November, the President issued the ‘July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order, 2025’. Under this order, a referendum will be held on 12 February on 48 constitutional reform proposals out of the total 84 reform proposals included in the July Charter.

NCP’s central election monitoring committee secretary Monira Sharmin believes that not signing the July Charter does not mean the party cannot campaign for a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum.

She told Prothom Alo, “The NCP did not sign the July Charter due to some ambiguities. For example, there was no clarification regarding the note of dissent, and there was no assurance about how the charter would be implemented. Later, the July Charter implementation order was issued, under which the referendum is being held. However, the issue of the note of dissent is still not clear.”

The NCP is contesting the 13th parliamentary election as part of the Jamaat-e-Islami–led 11-party electoral negotiation. According to information available so far, the party is being allocated 30 seats under the alliance. It will not field candidates in the remaining 270 constituencies.

However, in a press release issued by the NCP on Sunday, the party said it would appoint ambassadors or representatives in all 270 constituencies where it has no candidates. Through these ambassadors or representatives, the party will campaign in favour of a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum in those constituencies.

They will present the NCP’s political position, the importance of the referendum, and the necessity of voting ‘yes’ to local people. Through this method, the NCP aims to ensure a coordinated and comprehensive campaign across the country so that the party’s message reaches voters clearly in all constituencies, whether or not the party has candidates, and to mobilise public opinion in favour of a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum.

Despite campaigning for a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum, will the NCP sign the July Charter? In response to this question, party sources say many within the party now believe that the NCP should sign the July Charter.

However, with the party’s top leadership busy with preparations for the parliamentary election, referendum campaigning, and alliance-related activities, no decision has yet been made on the matter.

NCP chief coordinator and Dhaka–8 constituency candidate Nasiruddin Patwary has already begun campaigning in favour of a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum. Under a campaign titled ‘Azadi Jatra’, he is visiting various areas of the Dhaka–8 constituency to campaign for a ‘Yes’ vote.

Asked about this, Patwary told Prothom Alo, “Some issues in the July Charter are not clear. But we want reforms. That is why we are campaigning for a ‘yes’ vote. If we decide to sign the charter, we will announce it formally.”