The Bangladesh Nationalist Party will meet with the National Consensus Commission today to discuss key recommendations made by five reform commissions covering the constitution, electoral system, judiciary, public administration and the Anti-Corruption Commission.
The meeting, scheduled to begin at 10:30am, will take place at the LD Auditorium of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban in Dhaka, according to an NCC press release issued on Wednesday.
BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed is expected to lead the party delegation while NCC vice-chair Professor Ali Riaz will chair the meeting.
Today鈥檚 meeting is considered crucial for the ongoing state reform process and the future of the national election following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime on August 5, 2024 amid a student-led mass uprising.
In a bid to build political consensus on state reforms and the drafting of a national charter by July 15, the NCC sent a 166-point reform proposal to 39 political parties, including the BNP, on March 5.
Although the deadline for submitting feedback expired on March 13, the BNP responded to the NCC鈥檚 call on March 23.
The 166 points included 70 reform proposals by the Constitution Reform Commission, 27 by the Electoral Reform Commission, 23 by the Judiciary Reform Commission, 26 by the Public Administration Reform Commission, and 20 by the ACC Reform Commission.
Of the 70 constitutional reform proposals, the BNP agreed with 12 points concerning state language, nationality, constitutional amendments, deputy speakers in a bicameral parliament, impeachment of the president, interim government, local courts, and the repeal of Article 150(2) of the constitution.
Despite agreeing to these points, the BNP maintains that the proposed constitutional reforms must be finalised through further discussion in the next parliament.
鈥極ur party鈥檚 position remains that crucial reforms must be carried out by the next parliament. Any other options are irrelevant to us,鈥� Salahuddin told 抖阴精品 on Wednesday.
On the electoral reform proposals, the BNP stated that they involve constitutional amendments and must also be debated in the next parliament. However, without attaching any conditions, the party agreed to a proposal bringing registered political parties under the Right to Information Act 2009.
The BNP also agreed with eight of the 26 proposals from the Public Administration Reform Commission.
These include the formation of Cumilla and Faridpur divisions and the establishment of an independent investigation commission.
The party believes that these measures can be implemented through executive orders.
From the 20 proposals submitted by the ACC Reform Commission, the BNP supported 11 and added comments in the spreadsheet to help facilitate the proposed reforms.
Regarding the Judiciary Reform Commission鈥檚 23 proposals, the BNP agreed with 13, including those related to appointing new judges, recruiting auxiliary staff, and creating new courts.
However, the party believes that these matters require further consultation with legal professionals.
The NCC started dialogues with political parties on March 20. Till Tuesday, the NCC held dialogues with nine political parties.
