July Charter delayed as upper house debate fuels dissent

Bangla Press Desk: The “July Charter 2025," intended to be a foundational document for Bangladesh's state reforms, could not be finalised due to the lack of full agreement among political parties on the draft, though the 31 July deadline has passed. The National Consensus Commission (NCC) on Thursday announced that the charter will be finalised "soon" and that consensus was reached on several key issues, including the formation of a 100-member upper house in the Parliament through the proportionate representation system and key appointments to three forces and other vital state bodies, significant dissent and public protest marked the day. NCC Vice Chairman Prof Dr Ali Riaz said the political parties hold the key to implementing the “July Charter”. "If needed, we will sit again to specifically discuss the matter," he said on the 23rd day of the second phase of reform talks held at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka. Stating that the commission will act as 'catalyst' in the process, Ali Riaz said, "We will try to quickly prepare the final charter and hand it over to political parties. Based on this, a signing ceremony will also be planned."

The delay in finalising the charter has sparked protests as a group of people under the banner of July Warriors blocked the Shahbagh intersection, demanding constitutional recognition of the “July Charter” and a separate “July Proclamation”. The intersection was blocked from 10:00 am, causing widespread traffic disruption, said officer-in-charge (OC) of Shahbagh Police Station Md Khalid Mansur. The demonstrators gathered at Shahbagh in the morning and made a temporary stage there. Despite the rain at noon, they continued protesting without interruption.

The protest was continuing till the filing of the report at 9:00 pm. The protesters said they would not leave the streets until their demands are met. An additional number of police and Border Guard Bangladesh members were deployed in the area to maintain security. Police tried to disperse the protestors but failed. Earlier on Monday, the NCC placed the draft of the “July Charter”, which created mixed reactions among political parties. Amid strong opposition from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, National Citizen Party (NCP) and some other parties, the NCC decided to revise it.

Jamaat, however, threatened to sue the government and the NCC for compensation if the “July Charter” is not granted legal recognition. Talking to journalists during a break, its senior leader Dr Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher said their party will not sign the charter unless it is given a legal foundation. He said political party representatives spent time and worked hard to shape the “July Charter”. “There is no guarantee that an elected government will turn it into law. That is why we will file a compensation lawsuit against the commission and the government if a legal basis is not provided," he added. About the issue, BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed said, "We are pledging to implement this charter. We will recognise it constitutionally. This is a national consensus. This is the sovereign will of the people. There is no greater consent than the people, it is above the law." In his opening speech, Ali Riaz said, "We are preparing the final text of the charter. We hope that the political parties will be able to forge a path for implementation. We hope everyone will sign it."

Some 30 political parties, including BNP, Jamaat, NCP, Islami Andolan Bangladesh (IAB), AB Party, Gono Odhikar Parishad, Gono Forum, Khelafat Majlis, Ganosanghati Andolon and CPB, joined the talks. Thursday’s dialogue began with follow-up discussions on key institutions such as the Public Service Commission (PSC), Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Comptroller and Auditor General and the Office of Ombudsman. The agenda also included the upper house, the procedure for electing the President; powers and responsibilities of the President, the caretaker government system, citizens' fundamental rights, and state principles. Four left-leaning parties- CPB, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Jasad), Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (Marxist)- boycotted Thursday’s talks opposing the NCC’s proposal to remove the existing four fundamental principles of the Constitution. The NCC decided to form 100-member upper house in the Parliament through the PR system, meaning that these seats will be distributed among the parties in proportion to the votes they receive in the national election. BNP and several like-minded parties oppose the system, demanding that seats in the upper house be allocated based on the number of seats each party secures in the lower house. On the other hand, CPB and Jamiate Ulamaye Islam opposed the formation of the upper house. It seems that the upper house will be 'toothless' as it will have no power. According to the NCC's proposal, it will not have the authority to enact laws. However, all bills, except financial bills, must be introduced in both the lower house and upper house. The upper house will not be allowed to keep any bill pending permanently. If any bill remains pending for more than a month, it will be considered approved. After approval from the upper house, the bill will move to the President. The candidates with at least 10% woman aspirants for the upper house will be announced alongside those of the national elections. The dialogue witnessed a heated exchange over the upper house issue, briefly turning the meeting tense. BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed said they did not want to give the power of constitutional amendment to the upper house, as it will be formed with unelected representatives. He explained BNP's stance on the PR system on the formation of the upper house. At this point, NCP's joint convener Javed Rasin said if the upper house is formed based on the PR method, it will reflect the representation of people. At that moment, Jatiya Dal Chairman and Coordinator of the 12-party alliance, Syed Ehsanul Huda, speaking without a microphone, told Javed, "Where were you when we were protesting in 2023?" NCP's Member Secretary Akhtar Hossen said, "He (Huda) has no right to make such remarks. We have been fighting against fascism since childhood. We launched a mass uprising with everyone. He (Huda) should apologise for that." Salahuddin urged him to calm down. He also urged Huda to say sorry. Later, Huda apologised for his remarks. The BNP and other political parties agreed to a proposal for electing the President through a majority vote by members of both the lower house and upper house via secret ballots. The commission has said most of the parties, excluding BNP and its allies, have agreed to form a selection committee for appointing the chief adviser of the election-time caretaker government. The selection committee will be headed by Speaker where Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Deputy Speaker (from the opposition), and one representative from the third-largest party in the parliament will be added. Both the ruling and opposition parties will propose five names each, while the third-largest party will propose two names to the selection committee. The committee will then recommend one name for Chief Adviser to the President. If the committee fails to reach a decision, two judges from the Supreme Court will be added to the committee. They will choose one candidate from a list of 12 using a ranked-choice voting method. It was also decided to amend Article 48(3) of the Constitution to empower the President to appoint the chiefs of the three services and the heads of two key intelligence agencies without the prime minister's advice. The proposed amendment seeks to expand the President's discretionary powers, allowing independent appointments in several critical state bodies, including Attorney General, National Human Rights Commission, Information Commission, Bangladesh Press Council, Law Commission, University Grants Commission (UGC), governor of Bangladesh Bank, Energy Regulatory Commission and Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). During the first-round dialogue, there was a consensus on several issues and a list of agreed points was shared with the political parties by the NCC. This article was originally published on Daily Sun. [Bangla Press is a global platform for free thought. It provides impartial news, analysis, and commentary for independent-minded individuals. Our goal is to bring about positive change, which is more important today than ever before.]

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