Political parties will decide how to implement reforms, says Ali Riaz

National Consensus Commission Vice-Chair Ali Riaz has expressed hope that political parties will determine the course of implementing the reform proposals put forward by the panel.

Speaking at a press conference on the progress of the commission’s work at the LD Hall of the parliament complex on Monday, he noted that the panel does not have the authority to implement them, saying: “It is the interim government that will decide how to proceed. Now the question is how the implementation process will be crafted through dialogue among the political parties.”

On Feb 12, the government brought together the chiefs from constitutional, electoral, judicial, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), police, and public administration reforms to form the National Consensus Commission to drive state reform initiatives, bring the nation to agreement through dialogues and formulate the National Charter.

It began work from Feb 15 aiming to reach its goals in six months.

On Feb 28, the commission sent out the recommendations from the six commissions to all the political parties before forwarding a spreadsheet containing reform suggestions from five reform panels on Mar 5 to 38 parties and alliances, seeking their opinions.

Asked how the implementation process of the recommendations would proceed, the commission’s vice chairman said: “The question of the implementation process of the National Consensus Commission’s pronouncements is not specified. When we sought the views of political parties on each recommendation, we also asked them about the implementation process.

“They have given their opinions and we are consolidating those. But at the same time, we must remember that the implementation process is essentially something the political parties will decide for themselves.”

Riaz made it clear that the Consensus Commission itself does not have any specific proposal in this respect.

He said, “The question of how to implement them will arise if we can reach a consensus on reforms and prepare a July Charter based on them. Since the political parties have repeatedly expressed their wholehearted support for the reform proposals and reaffirmed their commitment, we believe they will be able to chart a path forward.”

He highlighted that some issues can be addressed immediately, and the caretaker government has been informed of those. “The government has already begun implementing some of these matters, and in the coming months, more of them will be implemented,” he said.

Present at the briefing to highlight the progress of the commission’s work were panel members Badiul Alam Majumdar, Safar Raj Hossain, Iftekharuzzaman, Ayub Miah, Justice Emdadul Haque, and Chief Advisor’s Special Assistant Monir Haidar.

Following the briefing, the commission members met with Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, who also heads the Consensus Commission.