Bangladesh’s Jamaat-e-Islami has termed the draft of the July Charter “incomplete” and labeled parts of it “dangerous,” especially the provision suggesting the formation of an elected government within two years.
Speaking to journalists during a break in the second phase of the ongoing 21-day dialogue at the Foreign Service Academy on Tuesday, Jamaat’s Nayeb-e-Ameer, Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher, said, “This is incomplete, and parts of it are dangerous. Now they say it’s just a sample, that there were mistakes. If that’s the case, there`s no need to comment. But if this is the actual intent, it is unacceptable.”
Taher confirmed that Jamaat is preparing its own draft charter, which it plans to submit to the National Consensus Commission. He stressed the need for legal legitimacy behind any consensus reached in the dialogue.
“There must be a legal framework to implement the agreed points. This can be done either through an ordinance later approved by the elected parliament or via a public referendum,” he proposed.
He further warned that without a proper legal structure, the country’s political future could face “serious uncertainty.”
On the caretaker government framework—a core subject of the dialogue—Taher said nearly all participating parties agreed that the next national election must be held under a non-partisan caretaker government. “Only the BNP raised some observations,” he added.
According to the proposed structure, a five-member selection committee would be formed, comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker (from the opposition), and a representative from the second-largest opposition party.
They would select the head of the caretaker government from a list of 12 potential candidates.
If consensus is not reached, the proposal outlines three decision-making methods: unanimous agreement, one-choice voting, and ranked-choice voting.
To ensure neutrality and avoid dominance by any third force, two judges—from the Supreme Court and High Court—would also join the selection body, bringing the total to seven members.
Taher noted that BNP opposes this structure, arguing that failure to reach consensus should result in the matter being referred to Parliament.
However, Jamaat and many other parties believe such a move would stall the entire process, as Parliament lacks the broader political representation present in the commission, which includes over 30 parties.
“In the end, it’s important to finalize decisions within this forum, not in a parliament dominated by only five or six parties,” Taher emphasized.
