Liberal Democratic Party rejects 42 reform proposals

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has presented its stance on a sweeping set of reform proposals on the first day of the National Consensus Commission’s dialogues with political parties.

Oli Ahmed, the chairman of the LDP, said his party supports 120 of the 166 recommendations put forward by the commission.

It opposes 42, partially agrees with two, and is uncertain about another two.

However, Oli did not specify which proposals the party endorsed or rejected.

The LDP’s meeting with the commission was held at LD Hall, in the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban area on Thursday.

Later, Oli provided a breakdown of his party’s stance on key categories of reform.

Of the 70 proposals concerning constitutional amendments, the LDP agreed with 51, opposed 16, partially endorsed one, and found two unclear.

On judicial reforms, the party supported 22 out of 23 proposals, with partial agreement on one.

It backed all 20 recommendations related to restructuring the Anti-Corruption Commission.

The party expressed greater reservations about public administration reforms, endorsing 11 out of 26 proposals while rejecting the remaining 15.

On electoral system reforms, the LDP approved 16 of 27 proposals and opposed 11.

Oli was particularly critical of the commission’s recommendations regarding the Election Commission.

"Among all the recommendations, the Election Commission reform recommendation was weak," he said.

"They should have reviewed the records of past dialogues with political parties."

He also underscored the significance of law-enforcing agencies and administrative officials in ensuring credible elections.

“No matter what you do, you can’t make the elections fair unless two key figures— the OC (officer-in-charge) and the UNO (Upazila Nirbahi Officer)—do their jobs properly,” he said.

At the meeting, Oli requested that the LDP’s opinion paper remain confidential.

In response, Consensus Commission Vice Chairman Ali Riaz assured him, “We will not give it to anyone.”

The seven-member National Consensus Commission, led by Muhammad Yunus, chief advisor to the interim government, began its work on Feb 15.

It was established in the wake of the mass uprising of July-August 2024, after which the interim government formed 11 commissions tasked with overhauling various aspects of governance.

To date, six commissions—focused on constitutional reform, the electoral system, the judiciary, public administration, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and the police—have submitted their recommendations.

The consensus commission had asked 38 political parties to submit their positions on these recommendations by Mar 13.

The commission’s next step will be to identify areas of agreement among parties, laying the groundwork for reforms ahead of Bangladesh’s next national elections.