‘Yes’ leading in referendum across most constituencies

Partial referendum results were available for 56 out of 299 parliamentary constituencies as of 1:00 am on Friday.

On Thursday, the day of the 13th parliamentary elections, a referendum was also held to implement the constitution-related proposals of the July National Charter.

Among these 56 constituencies, in all but two, Rangamati and Khagrachhari, “Yes” votes were leading.

In Netrokona district’s five constituencies, which have a total of 2,044,736 registered voters, results from 665 out of 676 polling stations showed 589,283 “Yes” votes and 359,747 “No” votes.

Similarly, in Cumilla-1 (Daudkandi-Meghna) constituency, results were available from 103 of 146 polling stations, showing 113,014 “Yes” votes and 38,546 “No” votes.

In Mymensingh-7 (Trishal), “Yes” votes stood at 94,605 against 27,497 “No” votes, while in Mymensingh-11 (Bhaluka), “Yes” votes were 51,875 and “No” votes 25,401. In Rajshahi-1, “Yes” votes were leading with 40,611 against 13,929 “No” votes.

Across other constituencies including Habiganj-1, Pabna-2, Patuakhali-1, Cumilla-1, 7 and 8, Pirojpur-2, Joypurhat-2, Bagerhat-1 and 3, Chattogram-1, 7, 14 and 15, Feni-2 and 3, and Chandpur-3, “Yes” votes were also ahead according to the latest results.

In Rangamati and Khagrachhari—the only two constituencies where “Yes” votes are trailing according to the latest partial results available as of 1:00 am—results from 74 out of 214 polling stations in Rangamati show 22,868 “Yes” votes and 61,262 “No” votes.

In Khagrachhari, results from 41 out of 203 polling stations indicate 30,665 “Yes” votes and 31,076 “No” votes.

If the “Yes” vote prevails in the referendum, the path to implementing the reform proposals will open. This will slightly reduce the prime minister’s absolute powers while increasing the president’s authority in certain areas.

Appointments to constitutional positions will be made through committees comprising representatives from the ruling party, opposition parties, and in some cases, the judiciary.

According to the existing constitution, nearly all executive authority rests with the prime minister. The president must act on the prime minister’s advice for any function except the appointment of the prime minister and chief justice.

Furthermore, the independence of members of parliament in voting on any matter will increase. Overall, this will enhance the balance of power among the different branches of the state.

If the “Yes” vote wins, the next parliament will be bicameral. The process for amending the constitution will change, making it difficult for a single party to push through amendments.

Following the July people’s uprising that toppled the Awami League government, the interim government led by professor Muhammad Yunus took office on 8 August 2024. The government then pledged reforms across various sectors of the state.

To this end, in the first week of October 2024, commissions were formed for constitutional reform, the electoral system, the judiciary, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and police and public administration reform.

Subsequently, commissions were also tasked with making recommendations in several other areas.

Initially, among the recommendations of six reform commissions, 166 were identified as important. To build consensus with political parties on these, the National Consensus Commission began its work on 15 February last year.

After extensive discussions with 30 political parties, agreement and decisions were reached on 84 reform proposals. These were incorporated into the July National Charter.

Among these proposals, 48 were constitution-related. The other proposals could be implemented through government orders, ordinances, or laws. Some proposals from various reform commissions have already been implemented by the interim government.

However, the constitution-related proposals cannot be implemented through ordinances or any other executive order. The referendum held yesterday was based on these 48 constitution-related reform proposals included in the July National Charter. Among them, 19 proposals had been identified as fundamental reforms by the National Consensus Commission.

Implementation of the constitution-related proposals essentially occurs in three stages. First, an order is issued to provide legal basis. On 13 November, the president issued the July National Charter (Constitution Reform) Implementation Order, 2025.

The second stage is the referendum. This referendum has been conducted based on the July Charter Implementation Order and the constitution-related parts of the July National Charter.

If the “Yes” vote wins in the referendum, the third stage will begin. In this stage, a Constitutional Reform Council will be formed, comprising members elected in the next national parliamentary election.

Members of parliament will simultaneously serve as members of the Constitutional Reform Council. The council will complete the reforms based on the July National Charter and the referendum results within 180 working days from the date of its first session.

However, the implementation order does not specify what happens if the council fails to complete the reforms within this period.

According to the reform proposals, a person can serve as Prime Minister for a maximum of 10 years in their lifetime. It is also proposed that the person holding the Prime Minister’s post cannot simultaneously hold the position of party leader. The BNP, however, had a different view on this proposal.

Currently, the President must act on the Prime Minister’s advice. However, if the July Charter proposals are implemented, the President will be able to appoint officials to the Human Rights Commission, Information Commission, Press Council, Law Commission, Governor of Bangladesh Bank, and Energy Regulatory Commission on their own authority, without any advice or recommendation.

The July Charter also proposes making the legislature or parliament bicameral and establishing proportional representation (PR) in the upper house. It specifies that amending the constitution will require the support of two-thirds of the lower house and a majority of the upper house members.