With cooperation, National Charter can be issued by July, says Ali Riaz

National Consensus Commission Vice-Chairman Ali Riaz has called on political parties to extend their cooperation to finalise the National Charter within the coming month.

During his opening remarks at the commission’s second round of meetings with political parties on Tuesday, he said the panel is determined to prepare the charter by July.

“We are grateful to the political parties who are cooperating and have been doing so during this time. If this process continues, we believe it will be possible to achieve our intended goal.”

Ali Riaz said the Consensus Commission is trying to reach an agreement on key issues, if not on everything.

“We reiterate—full consensus may not be possible on every matter, but for the greater interest of the nation and the state, we can make compromises and come to a common ground. That is the effort we’re making, aiming to arrive at a resolution through discussion,” he said.

The dialogue is being held at the Foreign Service Academy on Bailey Road, starting at 11:30am.

Among those present at the event are: BNP’s Salahuddin Ahmed and Ismail Zabihullah, Jatiya Gonofront's Tipu Biswas, Khilafat Majlis’s Ahmed Abdul Kader, Ganasanghati Andolon’s Abul Hasan Rubel, AB party’s Asaduzzaman Fuaad, NCP’s Tasnim Jara, Labour Party’s Mostafizur Rahman, LDP’s Redwan Ahmed, BLDP’s Shahadat Hossain Selim, JSD’s Shahid Uddin Mahmud Swapan, and JaSaD’s Mostak Hossain—representing a total of 30 political parties.

However, no representatives from Jamaat-e-Islami were in attendance.

Ali Riaz is presiding over the meeting, with commission members Badiul Alam Mazumdar, Ayub Mia, Safar Raj Hossain, retired justices Emdadul Haque, and Iftekharruzzaman.

The commission says the dialogue will continue in phases until Thursday.

“It will emphasise consensus on issues of disagreement such as Article 70 of the Constitution, the appointment process of presidents to Standing Committees, women representatives, a bicameral parliament, and the appointment of the chief justice,” it said.

The Consensus Commission met with political parties on Jun 2 to launch the second phase of discussions after the first phase ended before Eid al-Azha. Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus was present at the meeting.

The reports of the six reform committees formed in October last year after the political changeover were submitted in February. The National Consensus Commission was formed on Feb 15 to establish consensus on the recommendations of these reports.

They sought the opinions of 38 political parties and alliances on the 166 recommendations of the Constitutional Reform Commission, the Electoral Reform Commission, the Judiciary Reform Commission, the Anti-Corruption Commission Reform Commission, and the Public Administration Reform Commission. Of these parties, 33 presented their opinions.

Then, the Consensus Commission completed the first phase of dialogue, lasting 45 sessions, with them from Mar 20 to May 19.

Meetings with some parties were held over several days to facilitate the discussions. The commission said that consensus and partial consensus have been established with the political parties on several issues through the discussions.