The political crisis surrounding the implementation of July Charter appears to have been temporarily resolved through the announcement of a referendum. However, questions are still plaguing the minds of citizens.
In his speech on Thursday, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus presented the proposed ballot paper for the referendum, which does not offer voters the opportunity to express their opinion independently.
There had been divisions among the three major political forces – BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and National Citizen Party – regarding the implementation of the July Charter and the referendum.
In his address, Yunus attempted to appease all three parties. As per the BNP’s demand, the referendum will be held on the same day as the parliamentary polls. According to Jamaat’s demand, the proposed Upper House of the parliament will be formed based on the votes received by parties in the election.
And as demanded by NCP, a Constitution Reform Council will be established, and the July Charter will be incorporated into the constitution.
The chief adviser also presented a sample ballot paper for the referendum to approve this July Charter, and it is this ballot that has raised questions. The July Charter contains 48 proposals. According to the chief adviser’s statement, all political parties have agreed on 30 of these proposals.
While parties disagree on several proposals, their differences are not significant. However, their differences are substantial regarding the remaining few proposals.
In the proposed referendum ballot, voters will not be able to vote individually on these 48 proposals. Instead, voters will be presented with four points of consideration.
The first point states that during the election period, the caretaker government, the election commission, and other constitutional institutions will be formed in light of the process described in the July Charter.
The second point states that the next parliament will be bicameral. An Upper House with 100 members will be formed proportionally based on the votes received by parties in the parliamentary polls, and constitutional amendments will require the approval of a majority of the Upper House members.
In the third, regarding 30 proposals in the July Charter on which political parties have reached a consensus – including increasing women’s representation in parliament, electing the deputy speaker and parliamentary committee chairs from the opposition, limiting the prime minister’s tenure, increasing the president’s powers, expanding fundamental rights, ensuring judiciary independence, and local government reforms – parties winning the upcoming polls will be bound to implement them.
In the fourth, other reforms outlined in the July Charter will be implemented according to the commitment of the political parties.
Four points, but a binary choice
It is the ballot structure that has prompted questions.
A voter may not agree with all four of these points. A voter might agree with two points but disagree with the other two. In other words, they might want to vote “Yes” on two and “No” on the other two.
This referendum offers no such opportunity. One must either accept all points and vote “Yes,” or reject them all by voting “No.”
For instance, suppose a voter wishes to see a competent, skilled, and good leader serve as prime minister repeatedly. Therefore, they do not support limiting the prime minister’s tenure to ten years.
However, they agree with the other proposals in the July Charter. How can they express their opinion? They have no opportunity to vote specifically on this proposal within the July Charter.
The biggest question is that voters do not even know what proposals are in the July Charter. They do not know which proposals all political parties agreed upon and which they did not.
The Constitution’s preamble states that Bangladesh was established by proclaiming independence on 26 March 1971, through a historic struggle for the liberation. That preamble establishes nationalism, socialism, democracy, and secularism as the fundamental principles of the state in Article 8(1).
However, the July Charter describes “Equality, Human Dignity, Social Justice, and Religious Freedom and Harmony” as the fundamental principles of the constitution.
Implementing the July Charter would require removing the current preamble. Would that mean the historic struggle of 1971 may also get erased? How will voters cast their ballots without knowing the answer to this question?
The July Charter remains a complex issue even for the highly educated. For ordinary people, it is entirely incomprehensible.
In fact, rural people may not even know what the July Charter is. When people do not know something, their natural vote on the ballot will be “No.” The Constitution Reform Commission and the interim government have created this debacle themselves.
