Staff Reporter :
The National Consensus Commission (NCC) will submit its final recommendations to the government by October 10, aiming for political parties to formally sign the July National Charter by October 16, Vice-Chairman Professor Ali Riaz said yesterday.
Presiding over the fifth meeting of the commission with political parties at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, Prof Riaz said the NCC is in the final stages of reviewing proposals, objections, and dissenting opinions submitted by the participating parties regarding the implementation of the July Charter.
“The commission will give its final recommendations to the government by 10 October. There is a target to complete the formal signing of the July National Charter by the political parties on October 15 and 16,” he said in his opening remarks.
He noted that the commission is taking into consideration the “notes of dissent” submitted by several parties but stressed that such disagreements should be viewed within context. “We do not think all of them can be treated equally because those who have given such notes did so from their respective positions. We hope these reflect not only partisan interests but also broader considerations,” he added.
Prof Riaz said these differences should be transparently presented to the public before any referendum on the charter takes place. “We have to make sure that when people give their consent, they do so knowing that some political parties have reservations on certain issues,” he said.
He further noted that the commission will finalise its proposal for the government after carefully reviewing all opinions from the political parties. “If you can come up with a clear and specific proposal from your side, the commission will place it before the government and will recommend its implementation,” he told the participants.
Highlighting recent progress, Prof Riaz said the commission had achieved a basic consensus among political parties on the need to hold a referendum to implement the July National Charter. “We have made significant progress in this effort as we have been able to reach a common ground on the issue of holding a referendum,” he said.
Representatives from around 30 political parties — including the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the National Citizen Party (NCP) — joined the discussion, which focused on procedural issues for implementing the charter.
During a break in the meeting, Gono Odhikar Parishad General Secretary Rashed Khan expressed frustration over what he described as a “reopening of old debates” rather than advancing toward a final decision.
“From what we understood, a final decision was supposed to come today. But being here, it seems the discussion is starting all over again,” he said. “Today, we see some parties are now demanding a referendum before the national election. From today’s discussion, it feels like we are moving backwards. We are disappointed with this. Each party is shifting its position differently.”
Commenting on the divisions over the notes of dissent, Rashed warned that prolonged disagreements could render the referendum meaningless. “Even if this goes on for another four months, no consensus will be reached. To bring differing opinions into agreement, the commission must make a decision,” he said.
He added that if the referendum and the national election are held simultaneously, “the first session of parliament must approve the July National Charter.”
The NCC, formed earlier this year to build consensus among major political stakeholders, has held a series of meetings since July to devise a roadmap for implementing the charter through a national referendum and parliamentary ratification.
