Political parties have failed to reach an agreement over the timing and method of the referendum for implementing the July Charter, despite five days of talks with the National Consensus Commission.
The discussions ended Wednesday night with key disagreements—particularly among the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the National Citizens’ Party (NCP)—remaining unresolved.
The commission has announced that it will prepare and submit recommendations to the government within the next few days, combining expert opinions and political feedback. It expects the formal signing of the July Charter to take place between October 15 and 17.
The final round of discussions was held on Wednesday afternoon at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, beginning at 3:00 pm and continuing until 11:15 pm. The entire session was broadcast live on BTV News.
During the talks, political parties were visibly divided into two major camps. The BNP and several other parties insisted that the referendum should be held on the same day as the national election, while the Jamaat-e-Islami, NCP, and others favored holding it before the national polls. Disagreements also persisted over the wording of the referendum question and how to implement proposals that receive divided opinions.
The July Charter is being drafted based on 84 reform proposals from six reform commissions. Although the draft has been finalized, implementation procedures remain undecided, delaying its progress.
To resolve the impasse, the Consensus Commission has held both formal and informal meetings with experts, as well as five rounds of talks with political parties since September 11. While the parties had earlier agreed to hold a referendum to seek public approval for the Charter, they failed to reach consensus on when and how it should take place.
During Wednesday’s session, the commission’s vice-chairman Professor Ali Riaz urged party representatives to present specific proposals on the timing and process of the referendum. However, most parties reiterated their previous positions, and the session concluded without a final agreement.
