July Charter implementation order: How much of each party's demands accommodated

The government finally issued the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order yesterday, Thursday.

Before issuing this order, there were differences of opinion among various parties—including BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the National Citizen Party (NCP)—regarding the implementation of the charter.

The government had given the political parties seven days to resolve their differences and submit a coordinated proposal; however, it is reported that no formal discussions took place among the parties.

The question now is: to what extent did the government consider each party’s objections regarding the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order and the referendum?

In the July mass uprising, the Awami League government was overthrown on 5 August last year. After that, calls for reforms grew stronger.

An interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus formed 11 reform commissions. Among them, a National Consensus Commission was established, consisting of the heads of the Constitution, Election System, Judiciary, Anti-Corruption Commission, Police, and Public Administration Reform Commissions. Professor Yunus himself served as the chair of this commission.

The National Consensus Commission discussed 166 key proposals and implementation methods from six commissions. Recommendations from the Health Sector Reform Commission, Local Government Reform Commission, Media Reform Commission, Women’s Affairs Reform Commission, and Labour Reform Commission were not included.
However, the government has implemented some proposals from these commissions. Still, stakeholders believe the overall situation is 'not satisfactory'.

The National Consensus Commission spent nearly 9 months discussing the recommendations of 6 reform commissions with 30 political parties and alliances.

During these discussions, consensus and decisions were reached on 84 proposals. These proposals formed the basis of the July National Charter, which was signed on 17 October (the NCP and four leftist parties did not sign). Among them, 48 proposals are related to the constitution.

The July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order has been issued to implement these constitution-related proposals, and a referendum will be held on them.

The referendum will be held on the same day as the 13th National Parliament election. Just as voters will receive ballots to vote for candidates, they will also receive ballots for the referendum.

The referendum will have a single question, to which voters must respond with either 'yes' or 'no'. Four proposals will be listed under the question.

"Do you approve the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order 2025 and the following constitution-related proposals recorded in the July National Charter?"

The four proposals are:

During elections, the caretaker government, the Election Commission, and other constitutional institutions will be formed following the procedures described in the July Charter.

The next parliament will be bicameral. A 100-member upper house will be formed proportionally based on the votes received by the parties in the National Parliament election, and constitutional amendments will require approval by the majority of the upper house members.

The winning parties in the next parliamentary election will be required to implement the 30 proposals on various issues—such as increasing women’s representation in parliament, electing the Deputy Speaker and parliamentary committee chairs from the opposition, limiting the Prime Minister’s term, expanding the President’s powers, broadening fundamental rights, ensuring judicial independence, and local government reforms—that were agreed upon by political parties in the July Charter.

Other reforms described in the July Charter will be implemented according to the commitments of the political parties.

It is worth noting that some say certain proposals—including limiting the Prime Minister to multiple positions and the freedom to vote against one’s own party in parliament—can be implemented by BNP or other parties according to their own commitments or differing views, although these were not specifically detailed in the order.

All four of these proposals include all 48 constitution-related recommendations of the National Consensus Commission.

Why four proposals under a single referendum question? The answer is that this was done mainly to accommodate the objections of the political parties.

a) BNP opposed the issuance of the July Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order. They wanted it to be implemented through a proclamation, arguing that the interim government does not have the authority to issue such an order. However, Jamaat supported the constitutional order.

b) BNP also wanted the referendum and the 13th National Parliament election to be held on the same day. The government had already announced that voting would take place in the first half of next February, so BNP’s demand has been met. However, Jamaat’s demand in this regard was not fulfilled, as they wanted the referendum to be held before the national election.

c) BNP objected to the proportional representation (PR) system for forming the upper house of parliament. They wanted the 100 seats in the upper house to be allocated proportionally based on the seats won in the lower house. For example, if a party wins 150 seats in the lower house, they would receive 50 seats in the upper house. BNP’s differing view on the upper house was not accommodated. In this case, the demands of Jamaat and NCP were met. That is, in the parliamentary election, parties will receive seats in the upper house proportionally to the votes they win. For instance, if a party gets 10 per cent of the vote, it will get 10 seats in the upper house, and the party will decide the names of the members.

d) For constitutional amendments, a majority in the upper house will be required—that is, at least 51 votes out of 100. BNP opposed taking the matter of constitutional amendments to the upper house. Their differing view was not considered.

e) BNP wanted a 'note of dissent' system, allowing them to implement proposals with differing views according to their political commitments if they win the election. BNP’s demand in this regard has been partially met. However, their differing views on major issues were not accommodated, such as the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Public Service Commission (PSC), appointment of the Comptroller and Auditor General, and judicial appointments.

For example, BNP wanted appointments to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to be made by the government through a law. This was not included in the July Charter Implementation Order. If 'Yes' wins in the referendum, the chairman and commissioners of the ACC will be appointed through a Selection and Review Committee. This committee will be led by the senior-most judge of the Appellate Division (excluding the Chief Justice). The committee will include the senior-most judge of the High Court Division, the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Chairman of the Public Service Commission, one representative each from the leader of the house and the leader of the opposition in parliament, and a citizen representative nominated by the Chief Justice. The committee will propose names, and the President will make the appointments.

f) BNP has no objection to the caretaker government itself. However, they had a differing view on how the caretaker government would be formed, which was not accommodated.

g) NCP wanted a legal basis for the July Charter, which has largely been addressed. However, an alternative recommendation by the Consensus Commission suggested that if parliamentary reform proposals are not approved within a specified period, they would automatically become part of the constitution after 270 days. BNP objected to this, and the government did not adopt the automatic amendment recommendation.

h) NCP wanted the Chief Advisor to issue the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order, because there was objection to President Md Sahabuddin, although under the Constitution of Bangladesh the President can issue such an order. Ultimately, the order was issued in the name of the President.

i) NCP supported the formation of a People’s Assembly or giving a dual role to the next parliament. Jamaat also supported giving the dual role. The July Charter Implementation Order grants the next parliament this authority, meaning the upcoming parliament will function as a constitutional reform council. BNP, however, opposed giving the parliament the powers of a constitutional reform council.

The question is whether the conflicts among political parties have been resolved and whether everyone is now ready to move forward with the elections.

First, BNP has thanked the government after the issuance of the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order. However, there is one notable point.

The party has called on the government and the Election Commission to hold a referendum to obtain the people’s approval for the July National Charter, which was signed on 17 October based on consensus, and to organise the National Parliament elections soon.

On Friday, at an event, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said that BNP is committed to implementing the July National Charter as it was signed. He added that any proposals imposed forcibly beyond this will be judged by the people.

At a press conference today, Jamaat’s nayeb-e-ameer Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher, said that they want the referendum to be held first. He also remarked, “I am surprised to see that many changes have been made in favour of a single party.”

The NCP has not yet issued an official response.