Referendum on July Charter any day before polls: Jamaat

Staff Reporter :

The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has revised its earlier position on the timing of the proposed referendum on the July Charter, now urging that it be held before the upcoming national election rather than by the end of November.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin at the Election Commission headquarters in Agargaon on Wednesday, AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad, the party’s assistant secretary general, said Jamaat would formally submit a memorandum to the chief adviser on Thursday to press its demand.

“We believe the referendum must be held before the parliamentary election,” Azad told journalists. “If both are conducted on the same day, the focus will shift toward candidates, and the referendum will lose its significance. We must not fall into that trap.”

Jamaat’s new position marks a departure from its earlier insistence on holding the referendum by November. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), meanwhile, has proposed holding the referendum and the national election simultaneously, arguing that it would ensure efficiency and public participation.

When asked about possible electoral alliances, Azad said Jamaat was not forming a direct alliance with any single party, though it was in dialogue with several others. “We are in discussions with seven other parties that took part in the simultaneous movement and the earlier mass uprising. We’re trying to coordinate so that parties don’t nominate candidates in the same constituencies, though nothing has been finalised yet,” he explained.

Responding to a question about whether seat-sharing talks had begun with the National Citizen Party (NCP), Azad clarified, “As I’ve said, we haven’t started any specific discussions regarding seat distribution. Whether it’s with the NCP or any other group, our current focus remains on the fundamental issues of the election and national reform.”
Azad also announced that Jamaat will hold a rally in Dhaka on November 11 as part of its ongoing political activities.
On questions of security and law enforcement during the elections, the Jamaat leader welcomed the recent amendments to the Representation of the People Order (RPO), 1972, calling them “positive.”
He said Jamaat accepts the deployment of the armed forces with magistracy powers as a striking force to maintain order during the polls.
“The way the army is positioned now as a striking force, it will be effective,” Azad said. “They will perform both security and law-and-order duties to ensure a fair and peaceful election.”
Earlier in the afternoon, a three-member Jamaat delegation led by Azad met with the CEC at the Election Commission headquarters to discuss the upcoming electoral process, the referendum timeline, and security issues surrounding the polls.