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BNP PROPOSAL: No change in preamble, fundamental principles, rights; NID, delimitation under EC;  General election before constitutional amendments

NCP PROPOSAL:  Constituent assembly election for new constitution; Naming party candidates for upper house before polls; Election-centric interim govt for 70-75 days

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Communist Party of Bangladesh on Sunday recommended that the preamble of the existing constitution should be kept intact and major constitutional reforms should be adopted after the general election.

They made the recommendations while sharing their opinions on key reform proposals separately to the National Consensus Commission.

The National Citizen Party, however, in its recommendations submitted on the day prioritised the next election for a constituent assembly to adopt a new constitution and the assembly would later run as the national parliament. 

Rashtra Sangskar Andolan, participating in a dialogue with the consensus commission, stressed the need for a referendum, instead of an election for a constituent assembly, to endorse the consensus-based reforms.

Avoiding ticking the 166-point questionnaire, sent by the consensus commission to 38 political parties, the Socialist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist) submitted a written statement to the commission on the same day.

The consensus commission vice-chairman Professor Ali Riaz, members Badiul Alam Majumdar and Iftekharuzzaman and chief adviser’s special assistant Monir Haidar received the political parties at the LD Hall of Jatiya Sangsad in Dhaka.

BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed, after a brief meeting with the commission members, said, ‘The constitution reform commission-proposed preamble of the constitution keeps the 1971 Liberation War and the 2024 July Uprising on the   same line which the BNP thinks as inappropriate.’

Talking to reporters, he also suggested keeping a separate chapter for the recent uprising.

He said that his party proposed to keep the preamble, and chapters for the fundamental principles and rights intact as per the existing constitution.

Disagreeing with the options for constituent assembly and referendum, Salahuddin added that Article 142 of the constitution clarifies how to adopt its amendments. 

Regarding the key reform proposals on the electoral system, he said that most of the recommendations by the Electoral Reform Commission would require constitutional amendments.

‘The BNP suggests keeping the matters related to NID and delimitation under the Election Commission,’ he said.

He said that the BNP disagreed with the Electoral Reform Commission proposed election commissioners’ accountability to the parliamentary standing commission.

The BNP considers the formation and the roles of the proposed National Constitutional Council as undermining the elected people’s representatives, Salahuddin said. The BNP agreed mostly with the judiciary reform commission-proposed recommendations and the idea of bicameral legislature, and disagreed with the elimination of the Superior Selection Board and the criteria for promotion of the deputy secretaries as proposed by the public administration reform commission, he said.

A delegation of the CPB led by its general secretary Ruhin Hossain Prince submitted the party’s statement, instead of a ticked questionnaire, to the consensus commission on the day.

Prince told journalists that his party disagreed with the proposed preamble of the constitution, fundamental principles, Bangla names of the country and several other issues.

‘We suggest immediate reforms only necessary to hold a free, fair and credible election. Political parties may discuss the other reform proposals now but implementation of those shall be left for the next parliament,’ the CPB general secretary said.

A team of newly floated NCP, led by its joint convener Sarwar Tushar, submitted the party’s opinions on key reforms to the consensus commission.

Later, Tushar told reporters that his party agreed with 113 points out of the 166 points in the questionnaire.

‘Reform proposals that are not related to the constitution can be implemented through an ordinance. For issues related to reform of the constitution, our party wants a constituent assembly election.’

Citing his party’s demand to revoke the existing constitution, he criticised certain political parties’ perception that the constitution could not be rewritten. 

He added that the NCP agreed on a bicameral parliament. ‘However, contesting political parties must announce the candidates for the upper house before the election. The voters have the right to know who will be going to the upper house,’ Tushar said.

The NCP suggested that the interim government should be an election-time top authority, with a tenure ranging from 70 to 75 days, he said.

Sharing opinions, he added that the proposed national constitutional council could take on the role of the interim government after the next few general elections.

‘The NCP strongly disagrees with the idea of provincial governance, magistrate courts at upazilas, repealing of zila parishad, as proposed by the public administration reform commission,’ Tushar said. 

During a dialogue with the consensus commission, political group Rashtra Sangskar Andolon leaders called for constitutional reforms through a referendum before the national election.

The organisation’s chief coordinator, Hasnat Kaiyum, said that his party agreed with 151 out of 166 points put forward by the consensus commission’s questionnaire.

His organisation proposed that ‘secularism’ should be renamed ‘religious freedom and communal harmony’.

The other part of the chapter on the fundamental principles of state policy should be preserved, Hasnat Kaiyum said.

The establishment of citizen’s courts in every district, the formation of district governments in 19 districts, and setting up a special economic tribunal are among the Rashtra Sangskar Andolon’s additional proposals to the key recommendations.