State reform won’t be lasting if not carried out through Constituent Assembly, says NCP’s Nahid

The NCP views elections as a process of reform, he says

National Citizen Party, or NCP, Convenor Nahid Islam has said the reform of the state will not be "sustainable" if it is not carried out through the Constituent Assembly.

After attending a roundtable discussion with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday, Nahid said: "The ground for fundamental reforms must be prepared by this government and all political parties must reach a consensus by signing the July Charter.

"Prompt implementation of the July Charter is required to implement ‘our’ commitment to the people on reform and its continuation."

Leaders of seven political parties attended the discussion at InterContinental Dhaka. Along with several advisors, the reform commission chiefs were also in attendance.

Nahid said, "After Aug 5, Bangladesh's democracy is going through a reform process. The heads of the reform commissions presented summaries of their respective reform reports.

Representatives of political parties also spoke about the parties’ stances on reform.

"The National Citizen Party believes justice and reform are one of the major commitments of the post-Uprising government to the people."

Asked whether they discussed constitutional reform, he said: "There was no room here to discuss it in detail. We had an overall discussion about reform.

"Reforms must be undertaken through the Constituent Assembly; otherwise, the constitutional reform by the parliament will not be sustainable. From that standpoint, we want the Constituent Assembly election.

“The next general and the Constituent Assembly elections should be held simultaneously."

Nahid, who led the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, said: "We have stated ‘our’ party position in brief. The UN secretary-general said the political parties and the government should come to a consensus focusing on the true essence of democracy.”

Responding to a question about the parliamentary elections, he said: "We see elections as a process and a continuation of reform. An election without reforms will be useless.

“All other political parties also agree on this. The differences here are when the polls will be held, and how much reform we want before and after the election.

“We believe if it is implemented through the July Charter, the differences will be resolved and we can come to a consensus."

The meeting began at 1pm. Law Advisor Asif Nazrul, Information Advisor Mahfuj Alam, and Chief Advisor’s Special Assistant Monir Haider joined the discussion.

The roundtable included leaders from seven political parties, including the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, Nagorik Oikya, Communist Party of Bangladesh, or CPB, Amar Bangladesh, or AB Party, Ganosamhati Andolon, and the National Citizen Party, or NCP.

Among those in attendance were BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed, Jamaat-e-Islami Vice-President Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher, and Amar Bangladesh Party General Secretary Asaduzzaman Fuad.

Also present were the heads of reform commissions, including Ali Riaz of the Constitutional Reform Commission, Iftekharuzzaman of the Anti-Corruption Commission Reform Commission, Badiul Alam Majumdar of the Electoral Reform Commission, Safar Raj Hossain of the Police Reform Commission, and Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury of the Public Administration Reform Commission.