The National Citizen Party (NCP) has made it clear that it will not sign the July Charter unless its legal foundation is properly established.
This statement was made by NCP Convener Nahid Islam on Thursday morning, just one day before the scheduled signing of the charter, during a press conference at the party’s temporary office in Banglamotor, Dhaka.
Nahid Islam explained, “From the very beginning, we have actively participated in the consensus commission. After the people’s uprising of 2024, we demanded that the July Charter have a legal foundation. However, despite the signing process moving forward, the legal basis for the charter has not been provided, and we have not been shown the original text of the charter.”
He further emphasised, “We will not move forward with the signing until the legal foundation is assured.”
The NCP leader also expressed that the party seeks both transparency and legal assurance in the formulation of the July Charter. “Until those conditions are met, we will not participate in any fraudulent process,” he added.
The NCP has outlined three key demands before agreeing to sign the charter: The text of the July Charter Implementation Order and the referendum question must be finalised and made public beforehand; The Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus must issue the draft of the July Charter Implementation Order as an expression of the people’s sovereign will; If the people approve the July Charter through a referendum, the ‘note of dissent’ will hold no validity. According to the referendum result, the newly elected parliament will use its Constituent Power to amend the constitution, with the amended document to be titled the “Constitution of Bangladesh, 2026.”
Nahid Islam raised concerns, saying, “If the people approve the charter through a referendum, meaning if they vote in favor, the next parliament will be delegated Constituent Power. While there is general agreement on the need to amend the constitution according to the charter, we are still unclear about the specific amendments that will be made.”
Also present at the press conference were NCP Secretary General Akhtar Hossain, Joint Convener Sarwar Tushar, Senior Joint Convener Ariful Islam Adeb, and other party leaders.
