July Charter: Consensus Commission to resume talks with political parties next week
The National Consensus Commission will hold another round of talks with political parties in the first week of October on the mechanism of implementing the constitution-related proposals of the July National Charter.
According to commission sources, the date for the discussions may be finalised today, Tuesday.
Although the draft of the July Charter was finalised with 84 reform proposals, consensus has not yet been reached on the mechanism of implementation.
This is why the charter remains stalled.
Experts have already advised the commission that to make the implementation of the reform proposals sustainable, a referendum or constituent assembly would be the best options.
To determine the way of implementation, the National Consensus Commission began discussions with political parties on 11 September.
Despite three days of dialogue, no consensus was reached, and the discussions were suspended for the time being.
On Monday, commission sources said that the commission is scheduled to hold an informal internal meeting today, Tuesday, where the next course of action might be decided. Plans are in place to resume talks with political parties on 4 or 5 October.
The commission’s aim is to finalise recommendations on the implementation method with one more day of talks.
The extended tenure of the commission ends on 15 October, and the commission hopes to finalise the July National Charter within that time.
The commission is continuing both formal and informal discussions with experts on possible implementation method.
Options under consideration include issuing a constitutional order and later holding a referendum based on that, forming a constituent assembly, or seeking the Supreme Court’s judgment under Article 106 of the constitution.
These alternatives are being reviewed from various angles.
The implementation method of the reform proposals will not itself be part of the July Charter. Instead, the commission will present several recommendations on this matter to the government.
Experts have already advised the commission that to make the implementation of the reform proposals sustainable, a referendum or constituent assembly would be the best options.
The implementation method of the reform proposals will not itself be part of the July Charter. Instead, the commission will present several recommendations on this matter to the government.
Political parties remain divided over the issue of implementation method. The BNP supports implementing the constitution-related proposals through the next parliament.
Apart from that the party also suggested seeking the Supreme Court’s judgment on whether constitutional reforms can be achieved in any other way.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami favours implementation through a constitutional order and referendum, while the National Citizen Party (NCP) supports a constituent assembly.
The NCP believes that the constituent assembly could also function as a regular parliament.
Several parties including the Rastro Songskar Andolon and the Ganosamhati Andolan have proposed forming a constitutional reform council.
Several other parties including the Rastro Songskar Andolon and the Ganosamhati Andolan have proposed forming a constitutional reform council.
Meanwhile, some parties favour seeking the Supreme Court’s judgment regarding the implementation of the charter.
Monir Haidar, special assistant to the chief adviser involved in the consensus process, told Prothom Alo that there are plans to hold talks with political parties in the first week of October.
He added that before and after that round of talks, the commission will continue formal and informal discussions with experts.