Political parties – including the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami – have accepted the interim government’s decision to hold the national election and the referendum on the same day and to introduce a proportional representation-based upper house, despite expressing disagreement and dissatisfaction.
The parties now want to ensure that the national election is held in February as scheduled.
However, they are carefully maintaining their own political positions and acting strategically — largely to keep their grassroots energised and to maintain pressure on the government.
The parties expressed their reactions on Thursday following Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus’s televised speech regarding the implementation of the July Charter. The government later issued the July National Charter (Constitution Reform) Implementation Order, 2025.
After a meeting of the party’s Standing Committee last night, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir welcomed the government decision.
At an event earlier in the day, Fakhrul said national election is the only path to restoring democracy in the country. He said many may disagree with parts of the chief adviser’s address, but “we must move towards the election”.
In an immediate reaction, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed told reporters, “The chief adviser has violated the signed July National Charter through his speech.”
“The Constitution Reform Council is a new concept. This was not discussed at the National Consensus Commission. The proposal for creating an upper house in parliament was settled in the commission through a ‘note of dissent’,” he said.
“The idea of forming a body called the ‘Constitution Reform Council’ never came up in the commission’s discussions. These new elements are now being imposed.”
He also questioned the legality of the president signing the July Charter Implementation Order.
Meanwhile, although Jamaat-e-Islami and the eight like-minded parties have accepted the government’s decision, they want to continue with their announced programmes to keep their supporters energised and to maintain political pressure on the government.
These insights came from conversations with top leaders of the parties on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the eight parties led by Jamaat held a press conference announcing countrywide demonstrations at the divisional and district levels on Friday, demanding a referendum on implementing the July Charter before the parliamentary election. They also declared that if the demand was not met by Saturday, they would besiege the chief adviser’s residence from Sunday.
Leaders of the eight parties met on Thursday night at the Jamaat office in Moghbazar to decide their next steps.
At the meeting, senior leaders agreed not to reject the government’s move outright but to adopt a strategic approach. They argued that abruptly abandoning their previously firm demand for a referendum before the election could demoralise their grassroots activists. They also emphasised the need to keep pressure on the government.
For these reasons, they favoured continuing with the announced programmes.
“At Friday morning’s press briefing, we will outline the details of the decisions taken at the meeting. The nationwide demonstrations scheduled for Friday will continue as planned. Only the programme in Dhaka will remain suspended,” Jamaat Naib-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher said after the meeting.
A leader of one of the Islamist parties present at the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “If the referendum and the national election are held on the same day, the significance of the referendum will be diminished. The government’s decision is indeed questionable.
“However, we do not want to take any step that could disrupt the election or give an opportunity to the fallen autocracy to re-emerge. Still, as part of our effort to have our demands met, we support continuing with the announced programmes.”
Rashed Prodhan, vice-president and spokesperson of the National Democratic Party, told TIMES, “Issuing an order to give the July Charter a legal basis is a positive development. But we are not happy about holding the referendum on the same day as the election.”
Earlier, at a press conference in the afternoon, Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar said the government’s decision did not reflect public aspirations.
Islami Andolon Bangladesh, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis and Khelafat Majlis also expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s decision.
Samanta Sharmin, senior joint convener of the National Citizen Committee (NCP), said that by issuing the July Charter order, the political parties had been pushed into a long-term crisis. She accused the government and the chief adviser of trying to evade responsibility.
