Sheikh Hasina came to power in 2008 on the basis of the manifesto, 'Charter of Change'. She made a commitment to establish a democratic political culture. There was controversy over that election too. The present constitutional framework, institutions and norms transformed her into an autocrat. By passing the 15th amendment to the constitution when she came to power, passing a number of other repressive laws and completely taking over the existing institution, Sheikh Hasina became a monster over the 15 years of her rule.
Formed with the objective of handing over power to elected representatives by means of a free and fair election and restoring democracy, the interim government under the leadership of Professor Muhammad Yunus formed a number of reform commissions. The first six reform commissions that were formed handed over their final reports on 15 February.
The recommendations made by the six commissions can be broadly divided into two categories. The political parties do not have significant differences over some of the recommendations and these can be enacted either through ordinance or administrative decision. In many cases, the commissions have even drafted the ordinances. The government is currently working towards the implementation of these.
Other recommendations, however, require constitutional amendments and the consent of the political parties for implementation. These far-reaching reforms include the establishment of an Upper House of parliament; limiting how many times an individual can serve as prime minister; ensuring that one person does not simultaneously hold the positions of prime minister, leader of the House, and party chief; establishing a balance of power between the president and the prime minister; appointment of the president; representation of women in parliament; ensuring the neutrality of constitutional bodies; formation of a caretaker government comprising non-partisan individuals; and certain constitutional amendments.
In order to build consensus around these extremely important recommendations, a consensus commission was later formed with the heads of the first six commissions, chaired by Professor Yunus himself.
The first phase of discussions between the national consensus commission and 33 political parties and alliances concluded yesterday. These cordial discussions revealed which recommendations the political parties agree on, disagree on, or partially support. The reasons behind their disagreements also came to light. Encouragingly, based on these discussions, several parties immediately changed their positions in favour of the proposed recommendations, while others assured the commission that they would discuss the proposals within their party forums and convey their final decisions later.
Through this first round of talks between political parties and the consensus commission members, it has been possible for most of the parties to reach an agreement on principle regarding several issues. For instance, most parties have agreed in principle on establishing an Upper House of parliament, setting a limit on how many times one person can be prime minister, forming a caretaker government with non-partisan individuals, balancing executive powers, appointing neutral individuals to constitutional bodies, and reserving 100 seats for women in parliament. However, there remain significant differences in opinion regarding how these objectives should be achieved.
For example, although the political parties agree on creating an Upper House with 100 seats, they differ on whether the elections to this house should follow a proportional representation system. Similarly, there are disagreements about the process for holding direct elections to the 100 reserved seats for women.
The second round of discussions with the political parties is expected to begin later this month. It is hoped that this phase will lead to a consensus on the methods of implementation for the issues already agreed upon in principle. Based on this consensus, we are optimistic that a ‘National Charter’ will be formulated and signed. The political parties will themselves determine the process by which this charter will be implemented. In the second phase, alongside the political parties, opinions from civil society on the proposed recommendations will also be solicited.
* Badiul Alam Majumdar is a member of the National Reform Commission