PM tenure capped at 10yrs

Staff Reporter :

The longstanding debate over the tenure of the Prime Minister has been resolved, with all political parties reaching unanimous agreement that no individual may serve in the role for more than ten years in their lifetime.

In a significant breakthrough, political parties also endorsed the formation of an independent Police Commission-an issue long demanded by various stakeholders-to promote professionalism, accountability, and transparency within the police force.

Vice-Chairman of the National Consensus Commission, Professor Ali Riaz, announced the developments on Sunday during the 19th day of the second phase of the Commission’s dialogue, held at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka.

“We have agreed that a person may serve as Prime Minister for a maximum of ten years. This clause will be incorporated into the national charter,” said Professor Riaz.

BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed noted, “The proposal to cap the Prime Minister’s tenure at ten years originated from our party.

However, we have made it clear that we will not endorse this without the formation of a designated committee for appointments to constitutional and statutory bodies. In particular, the procedure for appointing the Election Commission must be enshrined in the Constitution.”

“If our condition is met, the ten-year limit can be announced immediately,” he added.

Another major outcome of the day’s discussions was the political consensus on establishing an independent Bangladesh Police Commission.