DHAKA, Oct 28: Bangladesh’s National Consensus Commission has proposed the interim government hold a nationwide referendum to seek public approval for the implementation of the July National Charter (Constitution Amendment) Implementation Order 2025.
“We’ve recommended that the government arrange a referendum any day from the promulgation of the order until the national election day,” said the commission’s Vice-Chair, Professor Ali Riaz, at a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy on Monday, reports Daily Star.
The 48-point document seeks to introduce a new political doctrine, replacing Mujibism, for the total overhaul and restructuring of Bangladesh’s political – constitutional institutions.
The reforms include proposals to restructure the Election Commission, decentralise administrative power, and introduce mechanisms to improve judicial independence and parliamentary accountability.
The NCC official said that the body presented the interim government with two alternative models for its implementation.
The first recommends that the government immediately promulgate an order and then hold a referendum to determine whether citizens consent to the order and its 48 reform points.
A Constituent Assembly would be formed alongside the 13th Parliament to oversee constitutional amendments necessary to implement the charter. The assembly’s tenure would last 270 days, after which an upper house, or Senate, would be established within 45 days.
Under this plan, elected representatives in the next general election would take oaths twice – once as members of the Constituent Assembly and again as members of Parliament.
The second proposal suggests that the government promulgate an order to frame a bill incorporating the 48 reform issues and then arrange a referendum on that order.
Professor Riaz said the aim is to ensure broad-based legitimacy and citizen participation in the reform process, which the commission views as central to stabilising Bangladesh’s political transition and institutional renewal.
Many critics have blasted the charter, questioning its legitimacy due to its exclusion of the Awami League, distortion of historical facts on the ’71 Liberation War, and pandering to hardline Islamic principles. (UNI)
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