July charter proposals handed over to CA

Published : Tuesday, 28 October, 2025 at 2:45 PM Count : 12

The recommendations for the implementation of the July National Charter 2025 were handed over to the Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus today.

Prof Ali Riaz, co-chair of the National Consensus Commission, handed the recommendations at a programme at the chief adviser's residence, Jamuna.

Members of the consensus commission entered Jamuna at 12:00pm.

The public relation officer (PRO) of the commission confirmed the information.

The commission will brief the media on the charter at 2pm at the Foreign Service Academy, said the CA press wing.

The government on February 13 formed a seven-member National Consensus Commission to review and adopt the recommendations submitted by the six key reform commissions.

Headed by the chief adviser, the members of the commission are Prof Ali Riaz, head of the Constitutional Reform Commission; Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, head of Public Administration Reform Commission; Safar Raj Hossain, head of Police Reform Commission; Badiul Alam Majumder, head of Election Reform Commission; Justice Emdadul Haque, head of Judiciary Reform Commission; and Dr Iftekharuzzaman, head of Anti-Corruption Reform Commission.

Its primary mandate was to engage with political parties and stakeholders of the 2024 uprising to build a national consensus on reforms related to elections, public administration, the judiciary, anti-corruption measures, and police activities.

In a display of political unity, 24 parties signed the much-anticipated July National Charter on October 17.

Although Gonoforum attended the event, it did not sign the charter on that day. Gonoforum signed the July Charter on October 19.

However, five parties -- including the NCP, and four leftist parties didn't sign the July Charter.

The signing--the outcome of three rounds of negotiations between the National Consensus Commission and 30 political parties -- took place on a rainy autumn afternoon at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

Parties long split along ideological lines shared a single stage in what organisers hailed as a watershed in the country's political history.

Besides the National Citizen Party(NCP), Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (Basod), Bangladesh JSD, and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (Marxist) stayed away from the ceremony.

NCP Senior Joint Convener Ariful Islam Adeb said, "Since this signing ceremony will not achieve any legal basis, this is only a formality. We have spoken about this legal basis many times. Before such a basis is established, this will turn into another one-sided document like the 'July Declaration'."

He added that the party would participate in the next process of the consensus commission as its tenure has been extended.

"If our demands are met, we will sign the charter later."

The four leftist parties said they cannot sign any charter, even with a note of dissent, that commits to changing the constitution's four fundamental principles: democracy, socialism, secularism and nationalism.

They also objected to any move preventing legal challenges to the charter in future.

The consensus commission drafted 84 proposals after two rounds of talks. Half of these issues were constitutional reforms.

BNP and its allies submitted notes of dissent on at least nine issues.

The final draft of the charter was sent to parties on September 10, and a third round of talks on its implementation began the next day.

During these discussions, parties agreed that non-constitutional reforms would be enacted through ordinances and executive orders, while constitutional changes would go to referendum.

Although parties accepted the idea of a referendum, they failed to agree on its timing, procedures and framework.

After closing the third round of talks, on October 14, the commission sent the final version of the charter to the parties, seeking their firm commitment to its full implementation.

The charter also calls for assurances that parties will not challenge its legality or necessity in court, and that they will uphold legal and constitutional safeguards throughout every stage of its execution.

Besides the reform issues, the charter seeks pledges from the parties to enshrine the document in the constitution, either as a schedule or in another appropriate place.

The commission made last-minute changes on October 17 to the charter to ensure legal indemnity, protection of fundamental rights, and security for the families of July martyrs and the injured, amid protests by the group called July Warriors.

FP/MI