Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has expressed dissatisfaction over the interim government’s decision to hold the national referendum on the July National Charter on the same day as the parliamentary elections in February, saying the move “does not meet the people’s aspirations.”
In an immediate reaction delivered at a press briefing at the party’s central office in Moghbazar at 3:30pm Thursday — an hour after Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus’s televised address to the nation — Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar said the simultaneous scheduling of the election and referendum could create confusion and undermine the democratic spirit of reform.
“On behalf of Jamaat-e-Islami, I want to state very clearly that the Chief Adviser’s announcement of holding both the referendum and the national election on the same day does not fulfill the people’s aspirations,” Porwar said.
“The people expected that constitutional and institutional reforms, as envisaged in the July Charter, would be completed before the election and presented to the nation on a firm legal basis.”
‘Voters need time to decide’
Porwar said the party and other stakeholders had reached consensus on 48 reform proposals, including constitutional and structural changes.
“These reforms should be explained to the nation before the general election. Voters must have time to understand them, form an opinion, and then deliver a clear yes-or-no verdict in the referendum,” he said.
He warned that holding both votes on the same day could blur the distinction between electoral and constitutional questions.
“A voter would have to decide on the reforms and choose a party symbol at the same time — that overlap risks confusion and crisis,” he said. “We wanted an election free from such pitfalls. Instead, the risk remains.”
Porwar further pointed to the practical complications of holding both exercises simultaneously. “In every national election, we see violence or unrest at some polling centres — two to five centres often close due to shootings or clashes,” he said.
“If the election and referendum are held on the same day and voting is suspended at those centres, what will happen to the referendum results? There is no clear answer.”
‘Hold referendum before election’
The Jamaat leader reiterated his party’s earlier demand, jointly raised by eight Islamist and nationalist parties, that the referendum should precede the parliamentary elections to provide a clear legal foundation for reforms.
“We, along with eight Islamic and patriotic parties, have been saying that the referendum should be held before the national election to resolve the constitutional uncertainty,” Porwar said.
“If done earlier, its legitimacy will be unquestionable and will not face legal challenges in the future. But now, the same crisis remains unresolved.”
Meeting to review Yunus’s address Porwar said Jamaat’s Executive Council, the party’s highest policy-making body, had convened an emergency meeting at 6pm Thursday to assess the Chief Adviser’s address and decide on the party’s next course of action.
“The council will discuss our official response in detail and share our position with the media afterward,” he said.
He added that the alliance of eight Islamic and patriotic parties would issue a collective statement later, addressing their five-point list of demands, which include the sequence of the referendum, implementation of July Charter reforms, and ensuring a free and fair electoral process.
Concluding his remarks, Porwar reiterated that Jamaat remains committed to reform but warned against decisions that “complicate rather than clarify the transition to a new democratic order.”
