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The Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party opposition alliance has rejected the initiative to implement fundamental constitutional reforms through a parliamentary special committee, demanding that reforms approved in the referendum be carried out through the Constitutional Reform Council.
Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar announced the alliance’s six-point demands at a press conference at the National Press Club on Sunday.
Porwar said the verdict delivered by voters in the referendum must be respected by state institutions and that the constitutional reforms approved by the people must be implemented accordingly.
“We support implementing the verdict of nearly 69% of voters on constitutional reforms based on the July National Charter and upholding the sovereign and constituent authority of the people,” he said.
He said the alliance did not accept any attempt to create an alternative reform process through a parliamentary special committee.
According to Porwar, the fact that the same individuals may serve as members of parliament and the Constitutional Reform Council does not make the two bodies identical, as they have different legal identities, sources of authority and mandates.
The alliance’s six demands are:
Proper implementation of the referendum verdict.
Implementation of the constitutional reforms included in the July National Charter and approved in the referendum.
Rejection of the current initiative to implement fundamental constitutional reforms through a parliamentary special committee instead of the referendum-backed process.
Making the Constitutional Reform Council functional by completing the required process for elected representatives to become its members.
No unilateral changes to the basic structure of the Constitution without public consent and the mandate provided by the referendum.
Advancing state and constitutional reforms based on public expectations, the referendum verdict and political consensus.
Porwar said respecting the aspirations of the July mass uprising, the July National Charter and the people’s verdict expressed through the referendum was the democratic way to resolve the current constitutional differences.
“The people’s vote cannot be accepted or ignored according to the political convenience of any party. Respecting the people’s verdict is the fundamental demand of democracy,” he said.
Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Dr AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad, Labour Party Chairman Mostafizur Rahman Iran, JAGPA Vice-President Rashed Pradhan and other alliance leaders were present at the press conference.