July Charter signing: Emphasis must be given on its execution

The ‘July National Charter 2025’ was signed on Friday after lengthy discussions and negotiations between the interim government and the Consensus Commission with political parties.

The strong demand for state reform that arose among all people after the bloody July Uprising officially began with the signing of the July Charter.

The signing ceremony of the July Charter at the South Plaza of the National Parliament building with the participation of major political parties, including the BNP and Jamaat, is undoubtedly an important milestone in Bangladesh’s democratic journey.

The National Consensus Commission drafted the July Charter in two phases.

In the first phase, they discussed with 33 political parties and in the second phase, they discussed with 30. Leaders of 25 parties participated in the signing of the July Charter on Friday.

However, some political parties, including the National Citizens Party (NCP), have not agreed to sign the charter. We hope the NCP will sign the charter at the laterdate.

Hopefully, we will now move towards the much-desired national elections, as per the roadmap declared by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus.

Even after signing the July National Charter, Dr. Yunus, in his speech, expressed the government’s position on the national elections.

“We will move towards the elections with the same tone of unity that we played through signing the July National Charter.”

However, the chaos created by a group of people identifying themselves as July fighters at the venue on the day of the signing of the July Charter was in no way desirable.

The vandalism, arson, and clashes that occurred there; it has sparked negative reactions and criticism from civil society, demonstrating the government’s failure to prevent such chaos at a nationally important event.

It is undoubtedly a big challenge to translate the commitments made by the political parties through the signing of the July Charter into reality.

The legal basis of the Charter must be ensured by following the constitutional process as soon as possible, so that no party can deviate from it in the future.

Quick and effective steps must be taken to implement the ideals of equality, human dignity and social justice contained in the charter.

The July Charter has raised hopes for building a non-discriminatory and democratic Bangladesh state.

To keep this expectation alive, leaders will not just have to sign papers, but will have to resolve all kinds of uncertainties and crises and move forward towards a stable future with unity and goodwill.