No scope for rewriting Constitution: Gono Forum tells Consensus Commission

Gono Forum has strongly opposed a proposal to amend the preamble of Bangladesh’s Constitution during talks with the National Consensus Commission, arguing there is no scope to rewrite it and that no one except an elected government can amend it.

The party’s leaders accused the Consensus Commission and the Constitutional Reform Commission of attempting to erase references to the Liberation War and the Declaration of Independence from the Constitution—an effort they firmly rejected.

The dialogue, held at the LD Hall of the parliament complex on Saturday from 3pm to 6pm, was attended by an 11-strong Gono Forum delegation led by the party’s General Secretary Mizanur Rahman Khan.

After the meeting, Gono Forum Presidium member AKM Jaglul Haider Afrik told reporters: “They want to change the preamble, saying the Constitution needs to be rewritten from scratch. We strongly opposed it.

“And another thing—they want to scrap Article 150 of the Constitution. Do they know what’s in Article 150? It holds our existence, our Liberation War.”

Jaglul continued: “Annex V mentions March 7—without March 7, you cannot understand our independence. Annex VI declares the Proclamation of Independence on the first hour of March 26; that’s why March 26 is our Independence Day. They want to erase the Declaration of Independence. We vehemently opposed this.”

He added: “Annex VII contains the Proclamation of Independence, issued on the 10th of April form the Mujibnagar Government. It’s with this proclamation that our freedom fighters began the war. If you remove the Proclamation of Independence, where does our Liberation War stand?

“The Constitution cannot be rewritten. This is the Constitution stained with the blood of hundreds of thousands of martyrs, the Constitution for which thousands of freedom fighters laid down their lives. It can be amended, yes—but it cannot be rewritten.”

Quoting party President Kamal Hossain, Jaglul said: “Kamal himself has said that certain amendments can be made to meet public expectations. Changes are possible—but rewriting is not.”

He insisted that only an elected government has the authority to amend the Constitution: “No one except an elected government can amend or change the Constitution. Political parties may submit proposals to the Commission, but only an elected parliament can act on them.

“There can be no national government without constitutional amendment, and no amendment without an elected government. Even a national government can’t do it.”

Jaglul also dismissed the idea of a bicameral parliament, saying: “We don’t support a two-chamber parliament. If there are conflicts, those can be resolved through discussion. We haven’t taken a definitive stance on forming a national government.”

Gono Forum General Secretary Mizanur Rahman noted: “The interim government was sworn in under the existing Constitution, so the government operates under a constitutional framework. To amend the Constitution, it must go through the next parliament. Under the current setup, no amendment is possible outside of parliament.”

He added: “We’ve proposed that any issues achieving broad consensus among parties be left for the next parliament to address. We’ve called for the restoration of a caretaker government system, as outlined in the Supreme Court’s verdict on the 15th Amendment. We’ve proposed a 120-day term for the caretaker government. We’ve also proposed that MPs be allowed to vote independently—except on money bills and confidence votes.”

Mizanur also called for balancing the powers of the president and prime minister: “The president has virtually no power. We’ve proposed balancing powers between the president and prime minister. The head of government and head of party should not be the same person. The leader of the House may be the prime minister.

“We’ve proposed a single deputy speaker, to be appointed from the opposition. Article 77 provides for an ombudsman, but it hasn’t been implemented—we’ve recommended making it operational. We’ve also said the four fundamental principles of the Constitution must not be altered. We’ve proposed a two-term limit for the prime minister. And we oppose any change to the name of Bangladesh.”

Mizanur accused the reform commission of unnecessary delays. “Some reforms could be done within a month or two, but they’re dragging it out. We’ve conveyed our concern to the Consensus Commission, urging them to raise this with the interim head of government.”

He pointed to long-standing irregularities in the judiciary and anti-corruption bodies: “The last 23 judicial appointments have been controversial. The Anti-Corruption Commission is staffed by political appointees loyal to the ruling party. We’ve called for a complete overhaul of the ACC and reforming its legal framework.”

He warned that without a reformed Election Commission, free and fair elections would remain elusive.

“If we don’t reform the Election Commission, elections will continue to be manipulated. We must curb the influence of black money. Returning officers and the police have repeatedly violated election rules without consequence. Not a single controversial election commissioner has ever been held accountable.”

“We’ve submitted proposals to reform the Election Commission to ensure free, fair elections where people can truly participate. We’ve urged swift reforms so the country can move toward elections without delay.”