Jamaat-led bloc stages protest, urges govt to honour referendum

The 11-party electoral alliance led by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami staged a protest rally and procession in the capital on Saturday, demanding the implementation of the referendum verdict and urging the government to address the issue through parliament.

The demonstration began with a rally at the north gate of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, after which protesters brought out a procession that moved through several streets in central Dhaka.

Addressing the gathering, Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer and Member of Parliament ATM Azharul Islam said the July uprising of 2024 was not intended to replace one political party with another in power but to dismantle the old political order and establish a new system.

“The July revolution was not meant to remove one party and place another in power. It was a movement to break the old system and build a new one,” Azharul said.

“The goal of the uprising was to return power to the people instead of concentrating it in the hands of a few individuals.”

He warned that rejecting the referendum would amount to disregarding the will of the majority of the population.

“Denying the referendum today means rejecting the verdict of nearly 70 percent of the people of the country,” he said. “Do not take a position against the people. Accept the referendum verdict while there is still time.”

The protest programme was organized by the 11-party alliance to oppose what they described as the government’s stance against the referendum verdict and to press for the implementation of the popular mandate.

Separately on Saturday, Nahid Islam, convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP) and chief whip of the parliamentary opposition, called on key advisers of the former interim government—including Muhammad Yunus and Asif Nazrul—to take to the streets in support of reform efforts.

Speaking to journalists at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after returning from performing Umrah, Nahid said the advisers who helped draft key reform ordinances should now publicly defend them.

“We gave them power through the blood of the people, but they have disappointed us,” he said. “If the achievements of that struggle are to be preserved, they must also come to the field.”

Nahid accused the government led by Tarique Rahman and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of ignoring the referendum verdict despite securing a two-thirds majority in parliament.

He alleged that the government is avoiding the implementation of several key ordinances related to reform and is reluctant to place them before parliament to be turned into law.

“By doing so, they want to maintain a system where executive power remains unchecked, similar to the previous authoritarian structure,” he said.

Commenting on the functioning of the legislature, Nahid claimed that the current parliamentary proceedings were largely symbolic and that opposition parties were forced to take their demands to the streets due to the lack of space for meaningful debate.

At the protest rally, Mamunul Haque, Ameer of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, criticized the government for what he described as political opportunism.

He alleged that the ruling party supports ordinances that extend executive authority while opposing those that could benefit the public.

“If the people’s verdict is ignored and the matter is pushed to the courts instead, the people will respond on the streets,” he warned.

Akhtar Hossain, member secretary of the National Citizen Party, also addressed the rally, questioning what he described as a double standard in accepting election results while rejecting the referendum.

“Forming a government through people’s votes is considered legitimate, but implementing reforms through the people’s vote is deemed illegitimate. The people of this country will not accept such hypocrisy,” he said.

Akhtar added that nearly 30 political parties had earlier agreed within the consensus commission framework on the idea of establishing a constitutional reform council, but he accused the government of retreating from that commitment after the election.

Protest leaders warned that if the referendum verdict is not respected and reforms are stalled, they would intensify their movement both in parliament and on the streets.