July Charter draft handed to parties

The Consensus Commission has delivered the final draft of the July National Charter 2025 to 33 political parties, aiming to ensure that the reform commitments reached through dialogue are implemented by future governments through constitutional inclusion.

The 40-page political accord was sent to the parties on Tuesday night.

The signing ceremony is scheduled for Friday at the South Plaza of the National Parliament, in the presence of Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus.

Some parties, however, have indicated they may not attend the event.

In a letter signed by Vice-President Ali Riaz, the commission said the draft was produced after wide discussions with political parties and coalitions, and is sent out for review.

Ruhin Hossain Prince, former general secretary of CPB, said he received the draft around 8:45pm without prior consultation.

He criticised what he saw as “misrepresentation” of history in the text.

Prince also raised concern that the four fundamental constitutional principles have been presented differently in the Charter -- something his party has opposed from the start -- and said they will consult with coalition partners before deciding on participation in the signing.

Bangladesh Labour Party Chairman Mustafizur Rahman Iran confirmed receiving the document and said his party would attend the signing event.

“We do not have significant disagreements with the final content,” he said.

Masud Rana, coordinator of BaSaD (Marxist), said while his party received a copy, they disagree with aspects of the implementation pledge and will discuss whether to take part.

BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed thanked the commission, calling the signing a culmination of six months of work among political parties.

The draft includes 84 reform proposals under a seven point pledge, designed so that signatories cannot legally challenge the Charter’s validity once signed.

It mandates that signatory parties ensure legal and constitutional protection at every step during implementation.

According to the final draft, the Charter will be fully incorporated into the Constitution “as a schedule or in an appropriate manner”, and signatory parties will not question its validity or necessity before any court.

The commitment paper mentions that the interim government will carry out “immediately actionable matters”.

The draft notes that 33 parties, including the 12-Party Alliance, reached consensus on the Charter. Agreement -- some with notes of dissent -- was achieved on 84 reform proposals in total.

It says parties and alliances submitted their opinions to the commission, with several offering detailed analyses.

Between Mar 20 and May 19 this year, the commission held 44 meetings with 32 political parties and alliances, some of them more than once.

After the first phase, the commission held a second round of talks on 20 key issues with 30 political parties and alliances. Only the views expressed in that phase were included in the final draft.

As a result, the “National July Charter 2025” has been formulated with near-unanimous approval, except for a few dissenting opinions.

But, the Charter does not include any recommendation on the mode of implementation.

Speaking to bdnews24.com, Riaz said: “It was decided that the implementation process would not be included in the Charter.

“We are sending only the Charter section to the parties. Everyone agreed that implementation will take place through a referendum,” he added.