The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has termed the recommendations made by the National Consensus Commission to the government regarding the implementation of the July Charter as “unacceptable.”
In response to a question, the party’s Secretary General, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, said, “There is nothing to complain about here. We have presented our opinions on the recommendations before the nation. We want a solution to the problem. If necessary, we will go to the chief adviser again.”
He said, the Consensus Commission, in its letter to the Chief Adviser, stated that it had submitted to the government the matters related to constitutional reforms included in the July Charter, proposing two alternative methods for implementation and for providing them with a legal basis.
It was said that, to make effective the issues related to constitutional amendments incorporated in the July National Charter, the government would issue an order titled “July Charter Constitutional Reform Implementation Order 2025.” The government has no authority to issue such an order. According to the definition in Article 152 of the Constitution, an “order” has the status of law, and the authority to issue it lies with the president.
At a press conference held on Thursday at the Chairperson’s office in Gulshan, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir formally announced this position on behalf of the party’s National Standing Committee.
He said, the National Consensus Commission had submitted its recommendations to the government to provide a legal basis for implementing the July National Charter. However, without mentioning the points on which there was consensus – including those with dissenting notes – and instead incorporating matters that were never discussed in the extensive deliberations, the other recommendations of the National Consensus Commission are unacceptable to us; hence, we cannot agree.
“We are deeply concerned that these recommendations will only divide the nation, creating disunity instead of unity,” he said. “Any arbitrary reform proposal may bring long-term misfortune to national life.”
The recommendations of the National Consensus Commission on how to implement the July National Charter were handed over to the chief adviser on Tuesday. The recommendations included implementing the Charter through a constitutional order and a referendum. It stated that after the issuance of that order, the referendum would be held at an appropriate time before the national parliamentary election or on the day of the election itself. For that, necessary laws would need to be enacted.
Calling the recommendation to hold a referendum before the national election “unreasonable,” the BNP secretary general said, “The chief adviser had announced that the national election would be held in the first half of February 2026. In that case, holding the proposed referendum before the national election is not possible. Considering the magnitude of organising a national parliamentary election, a referendum before the election is unnecessary, unreasonable, and imprudent. It is preferable that the referendum be held on the same day as the national election, within the same arrangement and environment.”
Declaring that “We will never agree to hold the referendum before the election,” Mirza Fakhrul said, “We have agreed to hold the referendum on the day of the election – in the interest of the nation, in the interest of unity. Beyond that, we will never agree, and there is no question of agreeing.”
Stating that “We have no mistrust about the election,” Mirza Fakhrul said, “There is no reason for the election to be disrupted. We have no mistrust of anyone regarding the election. We see no cause for concern. We want the election to be held soon. We hope it will take place in the first half of February 2026.”
In response to a question, Mirza Fakhrul said, “We have made it very clear regarding justice: those responsible for genocide – that is, the Awami League members involved in the killings – and the government officials of various departments who were involved must be tried, and the trial must take place swiftly.”
Among others present at the press conference were BNP Standing Committee members Abdul Moyeen Khan, Nazrul Islam Khan, Salahuddin Ahmed, Selima Rahman, and Hafiz Uddin Ahmed.
