Constitutional, governance reform efforts stall as political parties fail to reach consensus

Efforts to bring major changes to the constitution and governance system, aimed at preventing authoritarian rule and power centralisation, have hit a roadblock after political parties failed to reach agreement on key governance reforms.

Despite two months of discussions, several critical constitutional questions remain unresolved.

At a press conference yesterday, Ali Riaz, co-chairman of the National Consensus Commission, acknowledged the failure to achieve a final agreement. He said even where there was principled agreement, parties attached conditions such as ifs and buts to their submitted opinions, preventing a definitive consensus.

"While many parties have shown flexibility and expressed the need for further discussion, and there is broad principled agreement on numerous constitutional reform recommendations, additional talks are necessary on several specific issues," he added.

Between 20 March and 19 May, the commission held 45 sessions involving 33 political parties and alliances at the National Parliament's LD Hall and the commission's office.

Despite these efforts, consensus was not reached on pivotal issues such as decentralisation of the judiciary, appointment and term of the caretaker government's chief adviser, and formation of the National Constitutional Council.

Fundamental structural matters also remain unresolved, including the maximum number of times a person can be elected prime minister, the number of posts an MP can hold, presidential election procedures, and constitutional amendment processes.

2nd round of talks in first week of June

A statement from the Chief Adviser's Office yesterday announced that the second phase of discussions will start in the first week of June, inaugurated by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus. The first phase ended on 19 May.

The decision was made at a meeting of the National Consensus Commission held at the State Guest House Jamuna. Chief Adviser Yunus, head of the Commission, chaired the meeting.

He said the people of the country need to be made election-centric as they must be made aware that no one can snatch the ballot box. "We must bring discipline, and we, taking the people together, must hold safe elections."

Recommendations and reforms 

A spreadsheet containing 166 key recommendations from five commissions was shared with 38 political parties for feedback. It included 70 constitutional reform proposals, 27 on election reform, 23 on the judiciary, 26 on public administration, and 20 on the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Out of the 70 constitutional proposals, parties reached principled agreement on only 10, but details remain disputed. For example, there is consensus on restoring the caretaker government, but disagreements persist over the appointment of the chief adviser and the government's term.

Other unresolved issues include allowing MPs to vote against their party on confidence votes, money bills, and constitutional amendments, the formation and functions of an upper house, and filling 100 reserved seats for women. Key topics like the constitution's basic principles, citizens' rights, Article 48(A) on presidential powers, and balance of power between prime minister and president remain unsettled.

On electoral reform, parties agreed in principle on eight out of 27 proposals, including enacting a comprehensive law for the Election Commission, forming an independent boundary delimitation authority, and bringing political parties under the Right to Information Act.

Regarding the Anti-Corruption Commission's 20 recommendations, parties broadly agreed on all, with seven major issues highlighted.

Out of 23 judiciary proposals, there is principled agreement on eight, including establishing a Supreme Court Secretariat, creating a permanent government attorney service, enacting a Presidential Pardon Act, and forming a pardon board.

In public administration reform, only nine out of 26 proposals reached consensus, such as amending the Official Secrets Act of 1923, reinstating magistrate courts at the upazila level, reorganising the public service commission, and creating an independent public administration reform commission.

'Agreement on many matters'

Ali Riaz said, "Beyond the issues already mentioned, parties have reached agreement on many other matters. However, differences remain on additional recommendations, and we hope final positions will be clarified after the next phase of discussions."

He said the upcoming phase will focus on unresolved issues or where party positions are close, adding that "the National Consensus Commission has initially decided to conduct a survey through the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics to gather public opinion on selected reform recommendations."

Addressing the absence of dialogue on the Police Reform Commission, Riaz explained its recommendations were excluded because they can be implemented administratively without constitutional amendments. "A list of such recommendations has already been sent to the government for urgent implementation," he said.

Dilara Chowdhury, former professor of Government and Politics at Jahangirnagar University, told The Business Standard, "No real consensus has been reached on fundamental reforms and progress has been very slow, which is a weakness of the government. After nine months, limited progress is disappointing. 

"Either political parties are not cooperating or the government is not engaging them seriously. Without consensus, free and fair elections cannot occur, and Bangladesh's political crisis will deepen."

Writer Mohiuddin Ahmed also told The Business Standard, "While the commission has prepared proposals, political parties remain stuck in partisan thinking. The nature of the parties has not changed – they do not truly want reform. This has led to stagnation. The situation is polarised between the government and the political parties, making the continuation of reform efforts uncertain."