Vice-Chairman of the National Consensus Commission, Professor Dr Ali Riaz, on Sunday announced that the preliminary draft of the much-anticipated “July Charter” has been prepared.
He made the statement during his opening remarks at the 19th meeting of the Commission’s second phase of dialogue with political parties.
Prof Riaz said the Commission has completed a draft and will send it to all political parties by tomorrow for review and consideration.
“If you provide feedback after discussing it within your respective parties, your opinions will be incorporated into the draft,” he said.
He also noted that unless any major or fundamental objections are raised by political parties, no further discussion on the draft will be held in future meetings.
“Once we receive everyone’s feedback, we will compile the final version of the July Charter, which will include its background, preamble, commitments, and procedural details,” he added.
Reminding participants of the approaching deadline, Prof Riaz stressed that the discussions must conclude by July 31.
“Upon completing these talks, we want to move to the next phase of finalizing the process. So far, we’ve reached a consensus on 10 issues. In some areas, there are notes of dissent. Discussions on seven issues remain incomplete, and three topics have not yet been addressed.”
The day’s agenda included two previously discussed but unresolved topics, along with one new issue. Prof Riaz emphasized the need for clear and focused discussion aimed at finalizing the National Charter.
Sunday’s meeting will discuss the basic principles of state governance, the proposal to expand the fundamental rights of citizens, and the proposal to form an ‘Independent Police Commission’ to ensure the professionalism and accountability of the police force.
Representatives of 30 political parties, including Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Jatiya Nagorik Party (NCP), Gono Odhikar Parishad, Gana Sanghati, Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Biplobi Workers Party, Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party, are participating in today’s meeting.
The meeting was also attended by Commission members Justice Emdadul Haque, Dr Badiul Alam Majumder, Dr Md Ayub Mia, Dr Iftekharuzzaman and Safar Raj Hossain and Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser Monir Haider.
According to commission sources, the commission’s talks with political parties will continue for the next few days to build consensus on all the unresolved issues important for the state with the aim of quickly formulating the July Charter.