Final Copy of July National Charter to be Delivered to Political Parties Today

Staff Reporter | PNN:

The much-discussed July National Charter has finally been finalized. Today, Tuesday, the National Consensus Commission will send the final copy of the charter to political parties. However, the charter does not include any recommendations regarding the methods of implementing the proposed reforms. The commission has stated that implementation procedures will be sent later as a separate recommendation to the interim government and political parties, and will not be part of the charter itself.

After taking office, the interim government undertakes reform initiatives in various sectors of the state. For this purpose, the National Consensus Commission held two rounds of discussions with political parties based on proposals from six reform commissions covering the Constitution, election system, public administration, Anti-Corruption Commission, police, and judiciary. In the first round, discussions were held with 33 parties, and in the second round with 30 parties, resulting in consensus on 84 reform proposals, which have now been included in the July National Charter.

According to commission sources, the charter has three sections: the first outlines the background of the charter, the second contains the 84 reform proposals, and the third includes a seven-point implementation commitment.

The signing ceremony of the charter is scheduled to take place next Friday at the South Plaza of the National Parliament. The event, organized with the cooperation of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, plans to invite nearly three thousand guests.

Thirty political parties and alliances have been invited to sign the charter. Each party has already submitted the names of two signatories to the commission, though it is not yet confirmed if all will eventually sign the charter.

The commission noted that the main framework of the previous draft charter remains unchanged, with only minor linguistic adjustments. Although most parties supported the removal of Article 4(a) regarding the display of portraits of the Father of the Nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in government and private institutions, this was ultimately not included in the charter. The final decision on this matter will be made by the next parliament.

Meanwhile, there are still differences among political parties regarding the methods of implementing the charter. BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the National Citizens’ Party (NCP) have differing views on the basis, timing, and procedure of a referendum.

Professor Ali Riaz, Vice-Chair of the National Consensus Commission, stated, “The copy of the July Charter will be sent to the parties today, Tuesday. The signing ceremony will take place on Friday. We hope that recommendations regarding the implementation methods of the charter can be submitted to the government within this period.”