The National Consensus Commission is holding discussions with political parties today for the sixth day of the second round of discussions on the structure of the National Constitutional Council (NCC) proposed by the Constitutional Reform Commission and its name change to ‘Appointment Committee for Constitutional, Statutory Institutions’ due to lack of consensus among political parties.
The meeting began at 10:40 am today, Wednesday (June 25, 2025) at the Doel Hall of the Foreign Service Academy in the capital. The meeting was presided over by the Vice-Chairman of the Commission, Professor Dr. Ali Riaz.
Professor Ali Riaz made this statement in his opening remarks before the discussion.
He said that the revised committee will be chaired by the Speaker of the Lower House. The proposed commission will have seven members.
Professor Ali Riaz said that the members of this committee will be the Prime Minister, the Speakers of the Lower and Upper Houses, the Leader of the Opposition, a representative of any other party, a representative of the President and an officer of the Appellate Division nominated by the Chief Justice. And it will be chaired by the Speaker of the Lower House.
He also said that earlier it was proposed to have the President and the Chief Justice in the NCC. They will not be in this revised and newly proposed committee. The committee’s job will be to manage the appointment process of all other constitutional and statutory institutions except the appointment of the Attorney General and the heads of the three services.
At this time, urging the preparation of the July Charter by July, he called on the political parties to come forward with at least some concessions in the national interest. He expressed hope of reaching a consensus quickly with the cooperation of everyone.
In his speech, he said that there will also be a discussion today on what the basic principles of running the state will be.
Earlier, on Sunday, a difference of opinion emerged among the political parties on what the basic principles of running the state will be.
Although almost all parties expressed agreement on the principles proposed by the commission on that day, right-wing and centrist parties including BNP and Jamaat proposed to add ‘trust and belief in Allah’, which was added by excluding secularism through the fifth amendment, and some left-wing political parties including CPB and BSED proposed to add the principles proposed by the commission to the existing four principles of the state. In this case, the NCP completely opposed keeping the four principles set out in the 1972 constitution.
As a result, the issue remained unresolved that day, which is scheduled to be discussed in more detail today.
It is worth noting that today’s agenda includes the term of the Prime Minister, the principles of running the state, the election method of the bicameral parliament, the election method of the President, women’s seats, and various other unresolved issues.
Representatives of 30 political parties including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jatiya Nagorik Party NCP, Jamaat-e-Islam Bangladesh, AB Party, and the Mass Solidarity Movement participated in the political discussion today.
Source: BSS.
