Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has announced a three-day movement program with 5-point demand, including holding next February elections on the basis of proportional representations (PR) and the July National Charter.
The program was announced at a press conference held on Monday at the Al-Falah Auditorium in Mogbazar, Dhaka.
The written statement was presented and questions from journalists were answered by Naib-e-Ameer and former MP Dr. Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher, while the conference was conducted by the party’s Assistant Secretary General and Chief of Central Publicity and Media Department Advocate Ehsanul Mahbub Jubair.
Present at the event were Secretary General and former MP Professor Mia Golam Parwar, Assistant Secretary General Dr. AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad, Maulana Abdul Halim, Advocate Moazzem Hossain Helal, Central Executive Council member Saiful Alam Khan Milon, Central Executive Council member and Secretary of Central Publicity and Media Department Advocate Matiur Rahman Akand, Central Executive Council members Abdur Rab and Mobarak Homayun, Dhaka North City Naib-e-Ameer Abdur Rahman Musa, Dhaka South City Secretary Dr. Shafiqul Islam Masud, Dhaka North City Assistant Secretary Yasin Arafat, and Media and Publicity Department Secretary Ataur Rahman Sarkar, among others.
At the press conference it was said: “At this critical juncture in the nation, we appear before you. Bangladesh is currently moving through a political crisis. After the successful mass uprising of July-August 2024, the autocrat Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country.
The administrative structure collapsed. With no government in place, a constitutional vacuum emerged, and many constitutional provisions became ineffective.
In such a situation, an interim government was formed as the highest expression of the people’s will and national consensus.
The source and legitimacy of this government lies in Article 7 of the Constitution, which enshrines the sovereignty of the people.
“Taking advantage of constitutional flaws and structural mismanagement of the state, authoritarian rule, suppression of dissent, corruption, and partisan politics rendered the state dysfunctional.
Constitutional institutions were destroyed. As a result, reforms across all sectors of the state became essential.
After assuming responsibility, the interim government, with the resolve to deliver justice for genocide, reform the state, and block the return of autocracy, formed several reform commissions.
Based on the recommendations of these commissions, the National Consensus Commission met with political parties on the basis of 166 proposals.
After lengthy discussions, 84 proposals were adopted as decisions. Some important proposals could not be finalized due to differing views from a few political parties.
“The government has already prepared the July National Declaration and the July National Charter. As a major political party, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami submitted its suggestions and necessary amendments regarding the July National Charter to the government.
Jamaat has consistently played a strong role in calling for legal recognition of the July National Charter.
During this national crisis, Jamaat has repeatedly emphasized the legal foundation of the July National Charter, citing the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ and historical precedents.
We believe that without legal recognition of the July National Charter, the uprising achieved at the cost of the blood of students and people may end in failure.
“A roadmap for the national election has already been announced. We have been urging steps to ensure a free, fair, impartial, and acceptable election in accordance with the declared roadmap.
Based on past experience, we strongly demand proportional representation (PR) in the elections to stop the use of black money, polling center occupation, muscle power, irregularities, and fraud; to ensure quality parliaments and competent lawmakers; and to make every vote count.
The majority of political parties, intellectuals, journalists, columnists, writers, researchers, academics, and people from various walks of life have supported the demand for PR-based elections.
“We observe that no effective measures are being taken to fulfill the people’s demands. In such a situation, there is no alternative but a mass movement to realize the demands of the people.
Therefore, today, on September 15, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami presents to the nation a 5-point charter of demands, aimed at holding a free, fair, and acceptable election in February based on the July National Charter and establishing people’s voting rights to build Bangladesh as a just and accountable democratic state.”
The demands are: Hold the next election in February on the basis of the July National Charter.
Introduce proportional representation (PR) in both chambers in the next national election.
Ensure a level playing field for all to guarantee a free, fair, and acceptable election.
Ensure visible justice for all oppression, killings, and corruption carried out by the fascist regime.
Ban the activities of the autocrat’s ally Jatiya Party and the 14-party alliance.
To implement these demands, the following programs will be observed, In Sha Allah:
September 18: Rally and protest march in Dhaka city.
September 19: Protest marches in all divisional cities.
September 26: Protest marches in all districts and upazilas.
“Through implementing these programs, we call upon the people of the nation to unite to achieve their demands,” it further said at the press conference.
