July Charter: Proposal to increase female candidates by 5% in every election until 33% women representation achieved

The National Consensus Commission (NCC) has sent the full draft of the "July Charter" to political parties.

The charter has kept the number of reserved seats for women unchanged at 50. 

However, a provision has been made to nominate women candidates from each party at a rate of 5% in every election to increase the number of women candidates elected to parliament to 33%.

Article 24 of the proposed draft mentions the issue of women seats in the National Parliament. 

The draft states that Article 65 (3) of the original constitution will be retained and necessary amendments will be made.

In addition, some other issues have been included. 

What the draft says

In the election following the signing of the July Charter, each political party will be called upon to nominate at least 5% women candidates for the existing 300 parliamentary seats.

In the next election, political parties shall nominate at least 5% women candidates.

In this process, political parties shall achieve the target of nominating at least 33% women candidates in the general election. 

Until that is achieved, they shall continue to nominate women candidates at a rate of at least 5% in each general election.

While maintaining the reserved seats for women in the Jatiya Sangsad as stated in the Constitution, the term of the reserved seats for women was extended by 25 years through the Seventeenth (17th) Amendment to the Constitution (which was passed by Parliament on 8 July 2018). 

According to the calculation, it will remain in force until 2043. 

However, if the target of 33% women candidates in the general election by political parties is achieved before 2043, then the provision introduced through the Seventeenth (17th) Amendment to the Constitution will be repealed before the stipulated time.