Bangladesh’s interim government said Monday that political parties had largely agreed in principle on a sweeping reform charter, but remain divided over how it should be put into effect.
The South Asian nation of 170 million people has been in political turmoil since Sheikh Hasina was ousted as prime minister by a student-led revolt in August 2024.
Interim leader Muhammad Yunus has backed the 28-page draft, dubbed the “July Charter” after last year’s student-led uprising, which proposes a two-term limit for prime ministers and expanded presidential powers.
Ali Riaz, vice-chairman of the Consensus Commission, has been leading talks with around 30 parties. The commission wrapped up a second round of marathon negotiations on Sunday.
“The political parties have agreed on 84 reform proposals, with only a few notes of dissent,” Riaz said. “The main point of contention now is the procedure for implementing them.”
The key dispute is over the legal weight of the charter.
Critics argue it cannot override the existing constitution until after elections due in February, when a new parliament could endorse it.
The powerful Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) insists parliament must decide on its fate, while Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami and others want it ratified immediately.
Jamaat-e-Islami is organising mass rallies demanding the charter be endorsed, first in Dhaka on September 18, then countrywide on September 26.
Riaz said the document was otherwise ready. “We have asked political parties to nominate their representatives to sign,” Riaz said.
Yunus has warned that unity is vital. “We cannot end with disagreement,” the government’s BSS news agency quoted him as saying. “The election will be successful only when we can reach a consensus.”
