A consensus has been reached between political parties on increasing the number of reserved women’s seats in parliament from 50 to 100 and amending Article 70 of the Constitution.
“Everyone is in agreement regarding 100 women’s seats. Discussion on the election method is ongoing,” BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed told reporters before the lunch break during the second phase of dialogue between the National Consensus Commission and political parties.
However, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami did not participate in the dialogue.
Regarding Article 70, Salahuddin Ahmed said, “Members of Parliament will be able to vote against the party except for confidence votes and money bills.”
The Article currently prohibits MPs from voting against their party, with violations leading to the loss of their parliamentary membership.
Salahuddin added, “We are in our written position. Several parties have talked about constitutional amendments. We have said that the inclusion of the national security proposal (war situation) will be in our election manifesto. If we win the election, we will reform accordingly.”
He further said, “In Parliament, the chairpersons of four standing committees – Public Accounts, Privileges, Estimates, and Undertakings – will be from the opposition party.
Additionally, chairpersons of other public importance committees will be appointed from the opposition party based on the proportion of seats. There is a final consensus on this matter.”
Islami Andolon Senior Joint Secretary General Gazi Ataur Rahman echoed the BNP leader, saying, “Consensus has been reached regarding Article 70. [They] will be able to vote without confidence bills and money bills.”
He added, “Consensus has been reached regarding the chairpersons of four standing committees. Additionally, other committees will be taken from the opposition party proportionally.”
Currently, there are 50 reserved seats for women in the parliament, filled through indirect election.
Earlier in April, the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission proposed increasing the number of reserved seats for women in parliament to 300, with all seats to be filled through direct elections.