July Charter dispute continues; next meeting set for Sunday

The Consensus Commission and political parties failed to reach an agreement on Thursday on how to implement the July Charter, prompting a follow-up meeting scheduled for Sunday.

At a dialogue at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, political parties stuck to their positions.

BNP said that constitutional reforms must be implemented by the next parliament, Jamaat-e-Islami called for a special constitutional order to hold elections under the July Charter, and NCP demanded a new constitution through a Constituent Assembly.

Commission Vice-Chairman Ali Riaz said that the final charter has been sent to 30 participating parties, who must nominate two leaders each to sign it by Sunday. Despite differences, most parties, including BNP and Jamaat, expressed willingness to sign.

It was also agreed that reforms not requiring constitutional amendments could be enacted via ordinance or executive order before the next election under the interim government.

Chief Adviser Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus, who heads the commission, stressed that reforms are a core mandate of the interim government and must be finalized alongside elections and justice.

The commission proposed four methods to implement the charter: referendum, special constitutional order, ordinance, and executive order. Experts are reviewing party suggestions, but no consensus has been reached yet.

BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said that the party is ready to sign the charter and implement reforms even where it submitted notes of dissent, such as forming an upper house through proportional representation.

The commission will meet again with experts before resuming discussions with political parties on Sunday to finalize the implementation process.