National Charter Key to Sustainable Democracy: Ali Riaz

“Our goal is to prepare a national charter so that we can establish a permanent democratic system in Bangladesh,” he said in his introductory speech during a dialogue with Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) at the LD Hall of the Jatiya Sangsad Complex.

A five-member BNP delegation, led by BNP Standing Committee Member Nazrul Islam Khan, joined the dialogue that began at 10:35am with Prof Ali Riaz in the chair.

Prof Riaz said democracy in Bangladesh has repeatedly faltered, giving way to a personality-driven dictatorship, but democratic forces—led notably by the BNP—have consistently resisted this authoritarianism. “So, this is an effort to give it (the democratic system) an institutional form,” Prof Riaz added.

Other BNP delegation members are its Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed, BNP Chairperson's Advisory Council member Ismail Jabiullah, former establishment secretary Abu Mohammad Moniruzzaman and former general secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association Barrister Ruhul Kuddus Kajal.

Consensus Commission members Safar Raj Hossain, Justice Emadul Haque, Badiul Alam Majumdar and Dr Iftekharuzzaman were present at the discussion moderated by Chief Adviser's Special Assistant Monir Haider.

The Consensus Commission arranged the talks as part of the series of dialogues with political parties to reach a national consensus over the state reform initiatives taken by the interim government.

Earlier, on April 16, a BNP delegation, led by its Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir met Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and expressed its dissatisfaction about the outcomes of the meeting as the Chief Adviser did not give them any specific deadline for the election.

On March 20 last, the National Consensus Commission opened its dialogues with political parties aiming to build a national consensus on the reform initiatives undertaken by the interim government.

The commission has already held talks with 11 political parties.

The National Consensus Commission, spearheaded by Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, aims to establish a unified stance on critical reforms. Since its inception on February 15, 2025, the commission has been working to finalise recommendations for the state reform proposals.

In the initial phase, key recommendations from five reform commissions — covering constitutional, public administration, electoral system, judiciary, and anti-corruption reforms — were compiled and shared with 39 political parties for their feedback. To date, 34 parties have responded.

The National Consensus Commission is working to build national consensus over reform initiatives by mid-July next, by completing the first round of talks with political parties by the first week of May next and entering the second round of talks in the second week of May, reports UNB.