In first-phase talks, consensus reached on 62 of 166 reform issues

Highlights

• Parties agreed on 18 constitutional reform proposals
• Only 1 electoral reform proposal
• 18 judicial reform proposals
• 6 public admin reform proposals
• 19 anti-corruption reform proposals

While the National Consensus Commission is currently holding second-round talks, it earlier consulted 33 political parties and alliances in the first phase, gathering views on 166 issues drawn from 718 reform proposals put forward by five commissions. After 44 sessions, a consensus was reached on 62 points.

On Wednesday night (30 July), the commission shared a document with political parties — titled "Issues Agreed Upon in the First Phase of Discussions" — outlining a draft of 62 consensus points to be included in the upcoming July Charter. TBS has seen the document.

When asked, the commission's Vice President, Professor Ali Riaz, confirmed the matter. He told TBS, "We have not discussed all the recommendations. Instead, opinions were sought from the parties on 166 issues presented in a spreadsheet in the first-round talks, and a consensus was reached on 62."

Five reform commissions—covering election, constitution, judiciary, public administration, and anti-corruption—put forward a total of 718 proposals.

"In the second phase talks, which are ongoing, the parties so far agreed on nearly 13 more issues," Riaz said.

Meanwhile, the BNP told the media that out of 826 recommendations from six reform commissions (the five mentioned above plus one on police reform), they agreed on 650. They also described the spreadsheet used in the first-round discussions as misleading. 

When asked about BNP's claim, Ali Riaz said that the BNP avoided using the spreadsheet and instead held detailed, point-by-point discussions.

What are the positions of other parties?

Earlier, during the first phase of talks on 23 March, National Citizen Party (NCP) leader Sarwar Tushar said they fully agreed with 113 of the 166 proposals in the commission's spreadsheet. They partially agreed on 29 and disagreed on 22.

On 18 May, Jamaat leader Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher stated that they agreed with over 120 of the 166 proposals.

The AB Party reported agreement on 108 proposals, disagreement on 32, and partial agreement on 26.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said it agreed with 120 of the 166 recommendations from the commission.

Agreements across commissions

The Constitutional Reform Commission made 131 recommendations, with political parties agreeing on 18, including creating a bicameral parliament and increasing reserved women's seats to 100.

Despite note of dissent, decision taken on women's representation in parliament: Ali Riaz

They also agreed on presidential impeachment, recognising Bengali and other mother tongues, and defining citizens as "Bangladeshi."

In electoral reforms, consensus was reached on only one issue: political parties registered with the Election Commission will be covered under the Right to Information Act, 2009.

Judicial reforms saw agreement on 18 out of 89 proposals, such as appointing adequate judges to the High Court and Appellate Divisions, establishing an independent judicial appointment commission, updating codes of conduct for judges and bringing lower court judges under Supreme Court control.

Parties agreed on digitising the court system, reducing case backlogs, banning partisan politics in the bar council and lawyers' associations, and disciplining judges for political allegiance.

In public administration reforms, six out of 208 issues were agreed upon, including setting up an independent inquiry commission into genocide, election fraud, and corruption during the July 2024 unrest.

In anti-corruption reforms, 19 of 47 proposals were agreed on, including constitutional amendments to prevent abuse of power and illicit wealth, formulating a national anti-corruption strategy, and passing a beneficial ownership law.