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Published : 26 Apr 2025, 10:23 PM
Jamaat-e-Islami has demanded that pluralism should be completely removed from the core principles of the constitution in the proposal of the Constitutional Reform Commission.
The party also proposed a proportional distribution of seats in parliament, alongside its call to add "complete trust and belief in Allah" instead of pluralism.
Jamaat leader Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher made these remarks at a briefing following a discussion with the National Consensus Commission at 10:30am on Saturday.
A 10-member delegation led by him sat in dialogue at the National Parliament building. They discussed different reform issues with the commission Vice-Chairman Ali Riaz.
He said, “Our discussions are ongoing, and we will meet again on a convenient day. We are holding extensive talks without rushing, as the issues need to emerge with their full potential. We are moving forward to achieve meaningful reform.
“We have been able to agree on some issues, and we have proposed some others. They are considering them and some require further discussion.”
The Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer said he had proposed distributing parliamentary seats on a proportional basis, saying: “We have been calling for elections under the proportional representation (PR) system from the beginning.
“Elections should be held simultaneously across the country, and seats in parliament should be allocated based on the number of votes each party receives nationwide.
“We believe this would end election corruption, power grabs, and money-driven politics. This system is already practised in over 60 countries.”
Referring to constitutional reform, he said: “In the Reform Commission’s proposal, we have said pluralism should be completely removed from the key principles of the constitution and we have made another proposal, which is to place complete trust and belief in Allah."
The party has opposed the proposal to extend the term of parliament to four years and proposed to extend it to five years.
The party has agreed with the proposal of the Reform Commission for a person to serve as the prime minister for a maximum of two terms.
"This means one can serve as a prime minister for a maximum of 10 years."
After the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government in the mass uprising, the interim government has taken steps to reform the state. As part of this, the Consensus Commission is working to finalise the unified recommendations of the reform commissions formed for state reform and to build consensus among political parties on the issue.
The commission sought the views of 39 political parties on key recommendations from the reports of the five reform commissions and is now holding dialogues with the relevant parties based on their feedback.
Highlighting that a proposal has been submitted to the Reform Commission allowing a member of parliament to act regardless of party or class on any matter except approving the money bill, budget, constitutional amendments, or votes of confidence, he said: “We have agreed in principle with what the National Constitutional Council (NCC) has done, but further discussion is needed on the detailed power and authority.
“The institutions involved in the NCC’s formation also proposed to include the president and chief justice in the committee.
“Since both hold important state responsibilities, it would be better not to include them — sometimes the president needs to be consulted, and sometimes the Supreme Court is required. We have agreed on the structural aspects of the NCC.”
He further said, “We have agreed to add a new system to the constitution with an upper house and a lower house. The current parliament would become the lower house, while a new upper house — also called the Senate in some countries — would be created.
“We believe this will help ensure a better balance of power, and we hope to reach a good compromise.”
The NCC, formed under the leadership of Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus began work on Feb 15. Its vice-chairman is Ali Riaz, head of the Constitutional Reform Commission.
