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“The interim government, given the mandate and agenda it holds, should proceed towards elections only after justice and reform efforts are made visible,” he says
Published : 19 Apr 2025, 05:11 PM
The National Citizen Party (NCP) has said that national elections should only take place once those responsible for killings or oppressive actions during the July–August movement are brought to justice and after demonstrable progress is made in the push for state reform.
The party, formed by leaders of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement who spearheaded the mass uprising that toppled the Awami League government, believes the interim government should be given a “reasonable” timeframe to carry out justice and structural reform.
NCP Member Secretary Akhter Hossen made the remarks while speaking to reporters during a break in the party's dialogue with the National Consensus Commission on Saturday.
At the start of the dialogue around 10am, NCP Convenor Nahid Islam opened his statement by calling on the Consensus Commission to create a roadmap for reforms that could lead to a qualitative and fundamental transformation of the state structure.
Introducing the NCP as a new political force born out of the mass uprising, Nahid said: “This movement wasn’t just about removing a single individual from power or replacing one party with another. The goal was to build a state that could protect the rights of the people by fundamentally and structurally transforming the existing power system.”
The dialogue was moderated by Monir Haider, special assistant to the chief advisor, and chaired by the Commission’s Vice-Chairman Ali Riaz. Commission members Badiul Alam Majumdar, Safar Raj Hossain, and Iftekharuzzaman also took part.
The NCP delegation was led by Nahid and included Akhter, Senior Joint Convenor Samantha Sharmin, Senior Member Secretary Nahida Sarwar Niva, Chief Organiser (South) Hasnat Abdullah, Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwari, and joint convenors Sarwar Tushar and Javed Rasin.
“The NCP believes that the interim government, given the mandate and agenda it holds, should proceed towards elections only after justice and reform efforts are made visible,” said Akhter.
“Elections must happen, but only after these essential tasks are clearly underway. The government may take the necessary time to do so, but not without demonstrable progress on its responsibilities.”
He continued, “So far, we have discussed constitutional reform. However, we’ve not yet been able to begin discussions on key areas like the judiciary, Election Commission, public administration, Anti-Corruption Commission, and police reform.”
“We have raised the question of why the Police Reform Commission’s report was not included, and expressed our wish to provide input on these issues.”
The NCP wants the interim government, which came to power with a specific mandate and agenda, to move towards elections only after making visible progress on ensuring justice and reform, according to Akhter.
“Elections must certainly be held, but before that, the government must demonstrate real progress on justice and reform. It can be given the time necessary to achieve this but under no circumstances should it be granted more time without delivering results.”
After the fall of the Awami League government on Aug 5, 2024, the interim government that assumed power formed 11 reform commissions in two phases, with a focus on comprehensive state restructuring.
The National Consensus Commission is currently working to consolidate recommendations from the various reform commissions while also building political consensus around them.
Earlier, the commission had sought inputs from 39 political parties on key proposals presented by five of the reform commissions, and is now holding dialogues based on the feedback received.
