‘Yes’ vote wins, dissent may stall parts of July Charter implementation

A referendum on the implementation of the July Charter was held on 12 February, the same day as the 13th National Parliamentary Election. Out of 12 crore 77 lakh voters, 7 crore 76 lakh 95 thousand cast their votes. As more than 62% of voters voted 'Yes', clearing the path to formally implement the July Charter.

According to the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order, elected MPs will simultaneously serve on the Constitutional Reform Council.

They will implement reforms based on the Charter's constitutional proposals within 180 working days of the first parliamentary sitting, reports BBC Bangla.

Following multiple meetings with political parties over the Reform Commission's report, 84 reform proposals including 47 constitutional ones were included in the referendum.

Several constitutional proposals faced dissent from BNP and other parties. With BNP winning an absolute majority in over two-thirds of seats, analysts see no major obstacles for reforms which faced no dissent.

However, debate has arisen over forming the upper house, as BNP's manifesto calls for seat-based allocation, while the referendum mandates proportional representation.

Monir Haider, special assistant to the chief adviser told BBC Bangla, "The manifesto given by BNP was not directly presented to the public through any vote. But people directly voted on the issue of forming the upper house of parliament on the basis of proportional votes."

Analysts believe that despite the "Yes" win, several July Charter reforms with BNP's notes of dissent are unlikely to be implemented.

Referendum opens path for reform

In the election and referendum, 7 crore 76 lakh 95 thousand voters cast their ballots. Of them, 4 crore 80 lakh 74 thousand 429 voted "Yes" for implementing the July Charter, while 2 crore 25 lakh 65 thousand 627 voted "No".

This means over 60% voted in favour of "Yes", clearing the uncertainty over implementing the July Charter.

Implementation of the constitutional proposals has three stages. First, issuing an order to provide a legal basis when the president issued the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order, 2025, on 13 November.

Second, a referendum was held on the Implementation Order and the Charter's constitutional reform issues.

After the Charter's signing, disputes over its implementation arose among political parties and even spilled onto the streets.

Finally, responding to demands from various political parties, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus announced a referendum on implementing the July Charter.

With the "Yes" vote winning the referendum, the third stage of reform implementation will now begin.

Newly elected MPs, taking oath tomorrow (17 February), will also form the Constitutional Reform Council.

MPs will serve simultaneously on both bodies, completing reforms under the July Charter and referendum results within 180 working days.

At a press conference on Saturday (14 February), Chief Adviser's Special Assistant Professor Ali Riaz said MPs will take two oaths, one as parliamentarians and another as council members. The council's tenure will be 180 days.

What changes will come to the Constitution?

Of the 47 constitutional reform proposals in the July Charter, parties have reached consensus on several.

The "Yes" win allows reforms to reduce the prime minister's unilateral power and expand the president's authority.

Appointments to constitutional posts will be made by committees of ruling party, opposition, and sometimes judiciary representatives.

Currently, almost all executive power rests with the prime minister, and the president acts on their advice except for appointing the PM and chief justice.

MPs' voting rights in parliament will increase, helping balance power among state organs. BNP has no objection.

The July Charter limits a person to a maximum of 10 years as prime minister, a proposal BNP initially opposed but later accepted and included in its manifesto.

It also proposes that the prime minister should not simultaneously serve as party chief.

However, BNP disagreed with this proposal and included its stance in its manifesto, so the reform separating the roles of party chief and prime minister might not be implemented.

Lawyer Zahed Iqbal told BBC Bangla, "The Implementation Order itself states that the political party that wins may take decisions as convenient according to its manifesto. Therefore, BNP is not obliged to implement those proposals where it had notes of dissent, and it has mentioned those in its manifesto as well."

Currently, the president must act on the prime minister's advice. If the July Charter is fully implemented, the president could independently appoint officials to bodies like the Human Rights Commission, Information Commission, Press Council, Law Commission, Bangladesh Bank governor, and Energy Regulatory Commission.

BNP's manifesto also proposes creating a vice president elected like the president. Though not in the July Charter, it could be added to the Constitution later given BNP's two-thirds majority.

Debate rages on over upper house formation

To implement the July Charter, the government included four issues in the referendum ballot. Though there were four questions, voters could only choose "Yes" or "No", causing confusion.

In proposal "B", the formation of a proportional upper house was directly addressed. It stated that the next parliament would be bicameral, with a 100-member upper house allocated proportionally to parties' votes in the national election, and constitutional amendments requiring majority approval in the upper house.

The next question stated that the 30 July Charter proposals with party consensus, such as increasing women's representation, electing deputy speaker and committee chairs from the opposition, limiting the prime minister's tenure, expanding presidential powers, protecting fundamental rights, ensuring judicial independence, and strengthening local government would be mandatory for the next election's winning party.

The final question stated that other July Charter reforms would be implemented according to parties' commitments or manifestos.

The election results show BNP contested 290 seats independently, receiving 49.97% of the vote, while Jamaat contested 227 seats with 31.76%.

By alliance votes, BNP secured over 51%, and the Jamaat-NCP alliance 38.51%. In seats, BNP's alliance won 212, and Jamaat-NCP alliance won 77.

If the upper house is formed based on seat numbers, BNP could get 70 of 100 seats, Jamaat-e-Islami at least 26, and NCP 2.

If based on proportional vote share, BNP would get 52-53 seats, and the Jamaat alliance at least 38.

Although the July Charter specifies allocation of upper house seats proportionally based on votes, BNP's manifesto states that if it comes to power, it will form the upper house based on seat numbers.

This has sparked social media debate since election day.

However, Monir Haider told BBC Bangla that the referendum ballot had four categories, and voters directly approved proportional upper house formation. He added that during the election, the caretaker government, Election Commission, and other constitutional bodies would be formed per the July Charter process.

He said, "Voters directly voted on the issue of the upper house in the ballot. BNP's manifesto was not passed in the referendum. If one issue presented in the referendum ballot has been directly approved, and another issue has been indirectly declared by a party, which one should take precedence?"

Many in the interim government and constitutional analysts say debate over this issue will continue.