‘No’ vote would mean failure of July uprising Says Nahid Islam

Staff Reporter :

National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam on Tuesday warned that the July Uprising would be rendered meaningless if the ‘No’ vote prevails in the upcoming referendum, arguing that such an outcome would keep the previous system intact and pave the way for a return to authoritarian rule.

He made the remarks while inaugurating a campaign vehicle in favour of the ‘Yes’ vote at Banglamotor in the capital on Tuesday afternoon.

“The July Uprising will fail if the ‘No’ vote wins, because the old system will remain,” Nahid said. “It is the responsibility of all political parties to campaign for the ‘Yes’ vote. But we are seeing that a particular party is instead campaigning for ‘No’.”

Without naming the party, he said it was unclear what message those advocating a ‘No’ vote wanted to convey, adding that if the referendum is defeated, “the force that would come to power would be authoritarian.”
Nahid urged citizens to support the referendum regardless of partisan affiliation. “Even if you do not vote for us, we still request you to vote ‘Yes’ in the referendum,” he said.

Calling the vote a turning point, he said the outcome would determine the country’s direction for the next half-century. “This referendum will decide Bangladesh’s progress for the next 50 years. People must vote consciously,” he added.

Nahid also said the 11-party alliance would move forward with reform initiatives after forming the government through the national election.

Criticising the Awami League, he said the party had “ruined the country” through what he described as misleading promises, including pledges to provide rice at Tk10. “People can no longer be deceived by cheap propaganda,” he said.

Speaking at the same programme, Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, NCP spokesperson and chairman of the party’s Election Management Committee, announced that nationwide campaigning in favour of the referendum would formally begin on Tuesday and continue until the election is held.

He said the NCP and its allies would take the ‘Yes’ campaign to districts and upazilas across the country, aiming to mobilise voters and frame the referendum as a decisive step toward political reform.