A year on, July charter remains mired in discord

BNP, opposition divided over reform mechanism

A year after political parties signed the July National Charter, disagreements over how to implement its reforms continue to strain the consensus that once united them.

Opposition parties accuse the ruling BNP of abandoning its pre-election commitments by replacing a referendum-backed reform process with one that would leave constitutional changes largely in the hands of the parliamentary majority.

When political leaders gathered at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban on October 17 last year, the charter was presented as a roadmap for turning the aspirations of the July uprising into lasting institutional reforms.

After months of negotiations, the parties agreed on 84 reform proposals, 48 of which require constitutional amendments. The proposals aimed to prevent a return to authoritarian rule and reshape state institutions.

But as the charter marks its first anniversary, that unity appears increasingly fragile. At the heart of the discord is how the constitutional reforms should be implemented.

The BNP says it will implement the charter as signed, but maintains that constitutional amendments must ultimately be enacted through parliament. The government has formed a special parliamentary committee to recommend the changes.

At the same time, it rejects the legal basis of the proposed Constitution Reform Council. On March 31, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed told parliament that the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order was “void ab initio”, or invalid from the beginning.

He argued that the president had the authority to issue such orders only between March 26, 1971 and April 7, 1973, and lost that power after the first parliament was formed in 1973. He also described the implementation order as “a document of endless deceit and national betrayal”.

Opposition parties led by Jamaat-e-Islami, however, insist that the government comply with the order, which provided for a Constitution Reform Council.

Jamaat Assistant Secretary General AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad said voters had endorsed a specific process for implementing constitutional reforms through a referendum.

“The people approved constitutional reform through a Constitution Reform Council, but the BNP is now relying on its overwhelming parliamentary majority to amend the constitution,” he said. “The BNP is moving against public opinion.”

Azad warned that bypassing the agreed mechanism could invite legal challenges and jeopardise months of political negotiations.

Jamaat would continue its campaign both inside and outside parliament, he said. The Jamaat-led alliance has been holding demonstrations with an eight-point demand that includes implementation of the referendum result.

After the second meeting of the Special Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Amendment on September 20, Salahuddin reiterated that the government remained committed to implementing the July charter in full.

“We have said that we will implement the July National Charter word for word. We will bring the necessary constitutional amendments as quickly as possible in line with the charter that was signed by the political parties,” he told reporters.

Rejecting allegations that the BNP was unwilling to implement the charter because of its parliamentary majority, he said such claims were intended to create confusion.

“Some political parties are spreading propaganda that the BNP does not want to implement the July National Charter because it holds a majority in parliament. This is completely untrue,” he said.

HOW THE CHARTER TOOK SHAPE

The charter emerged from a political dialogue initiated by the National Consensus Commission, headed by then chief adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus.

Between March and October 2025, the commission held several rounds of discussions with political parties on reforms to the constitution, judiciary, public administration, elections and other state institutions.

Thirty parties took part in the process, and 24 signed the charter on October 17, 2025. Gano Forum joined later, followed by the National Citizen Party (NCP) after the February election, bringing the total number of signatories to 26.

On November 13, 2025, then president Mohammed Shahabuddin issued the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order. It provided for a referendum on 48 constitutional issues, to be held alongside the national election on February 12 this year.

Under the approved framework, elected MPs were to serve both as legislators and as members of a Constitution Reform Council, which would implement the charter’s constitutional provisions within 180 working days.

POST-ELECTION HICCUP

After the election, BNP lawmakers declined to take the additional oath required to join the reform council, arguing that the constitution made no provision for such a body.

Opposition MPs from the Jamaat-led alliance took both oaths and insisted that the referendum result and the implementation order be respected.

The council has yet to be formed.

The government instead proposed a special parliamentary committee to oversee the constitutional reforms.

Jamaat, the NCP and their allies rejected the proposal, arguing that an ordinary parliamentary committee could not replace the council envisaged in the charter.

The government initially proposed a 17-member committee, with 12 members from the ruling alliance and five from the opposition. The Jamaat-led 11-party alliance, which includes eight charter signatories, rejected the proposal. The committee was nevertheless formed on July 13.

It has since consulted various stakeholders and is expected to submit its recommendations by December. The government aims to place a constitutional amendment bill before parliament in its January 2027 session.

At the committee’s seventh meeting on October 13, Salahuddin reiterated that the government preferred consensus but would proceed with the amendments even if opposition parties declined to participate.

CONCERNS OVER REFORM ROLLBACK

The dispute extends beyond the council to the ordinances issued by the interim government.

The interim administration issued 133 ordinances covering judicial independence, anti-corruption measures, human rights and other institutional reforms.

The BNP government chose not to ratify 16 and repealed another seven, fuelling opposition concerns that parts of the reform agenda could be diluted or abandoned.

The affected measures included provisions on Supreme Court judge appointments, a Supreme Court Secretariat, enforced disappearances, the Anti-Corruption Commission, the National Human Rights Commission and the Police Commission.

Among the repealed measures were the Supreme Court Judges Appointment Ordinance and the Supreme Court Secretariat Ordinance, which had been introduced to strengthen judicial independence.

The government has said the relevant measures will be reintroduced as bills after further review and consultation.

It has moved ahead with legislation on some issues, including enforced disappearances, the National Human Rights Commission and security sector reforms. Opposition lawmakers, however, say several bills fall short of the original reform agenda.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) yesterday said the unprecedented opportunity to establish accountable governance and undertake state reforms after the July uprising had been held hostage by power politics and a “vicious bureaucratic cycle”.

In a statement marking the charter’s first anniversary, the anti-corruption watchdog urged all political parties to show the same goodwill and wisdom they had displayed in reaching consensus on the charter.

OPPOSITION PARTIES SCEPTICAL

For the NCP, the BNP’s refusal to join the council marked a decisive break with the charter’s implementation framework.

NCP Member Secretary Akhter Hossen said the referendum had given the reforms a direct public mandate.

“The BNP is effectively rejecting the referendum verdict because it disagrees with many of these fundamental reforms,” he said.

He warned that the government could pursue only limited reforms while leaving broader democratic goals unfulfilled.

Islami Andolan Bangladesh has also questioned the government’s commitment.

Its General Secretary, Gazi Ataur Rahman, alleged that the BNP had backed the referendum process before the election but began questioning its legality after taking office.

His party was waiting to see how the government proceeded, he said, warning that abandoning the charter could carry political costs.

“If the government backs away from the charter, it will face a difficult situation,” he said.

Rastro Songskar Andolan President Hasnat Quaiyum said the charter recorded political parties’ commitments to reform, while the referendum endorsed both the proposals and the mechanism for implementing them.

Recent developments had raised doubts about the BNP’s commitment to the full agenda, he said. Disregarding the public verdict could undermine the democratic process and risk a return to highly centralised governance.

“This is creating a troubling precedent in Bangladesh’s democratic politics. If the people’s verdict is ignored, it could create a serious crisis for the country’s democratic future. It would not only damage the BNP politically but also undermine Bangladesh’s broader democratic culture and political process,” he said.

Quaiyum nevertheless said he remained hopeful that the government would honour the mandate within the council’s 180-working-day timeframe. Constitutional reform could not be avoided indefinitely, he said.

RULING ALLIANCE PARTNERS REMAIN HOPEFUL

Some parties that joined the BNP-led ruling alliance in the election remain optimistic about implementation, although they differ over the causes of the impasse.

Abul Hasan Rubel, executive coordinator of Ganosamhati Andolon, said the charter was a formally signed political document that should be implemented as agreed. Failure to do so could undermine the political unity built around it.

However, he attributed the deadlock partly to “flaws” in the interim administration’s implementation framework.

“In my view, the referendum order should have been issued only after further discussions among the political parties based on the recommendations of the expert committee. But that did not happen,” he said.

Revolutionary Workers Party General Secretary Saiful Haque said the BNP had made a political mistake by refusing to form the council for 180 days, despite campaigning in favour of the referendum-backed process.

Had the BNP followed that course, it could have countered accusations that it did not believe in the charter or the July uprising, he said.

“For now, I remain optimistic that the BNP will move forward with it in the coming months,” he said.