‘Yes’ wins referendum on July Charter, turnout at 60.26 percent

The 48-point constitutional reform plan in the July National Charter receives public consent

The referendum on the July National Charter has passed with a resounding 68.06 percent of votes going to “Yes”.

The fourth referendum in the country’s history had a turnout of 60.26 percent.

A total of 48,074,429 (68.05 percent) votes were cast for “Yes”, while 22,565,627 votes were cast for “No”.

A total of 70,640,056 people voted in the referendum, which was held alongside the 13th parliamentary election on Thursday.

The result indicates public consent for implementing 48 points of constitutional reform included in the July National Charter.

The results of the referendum were announced by Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed on Friday.

Polling began at 7:30am and continued uninterrupted until 4:30pm across 299 constituencies.

The referendum was organised to seek public consent for implementing 48 points of constitutional reform in the July National Charter.

While the Charter outlines a total of 84 reform points related to state restructuring, the National Consensus Commission has classified those beyond constitutional amendments as reforms to be implemented through laws, ordinances, regulations and executive orders.

Voters were given an additional ballot paper for the referendum alongside the ballot for electing their parliamentary representatives.

The referendum ballot asked a single, consolidated question seeking consent on four broad reform areas, to be answered with either a “Yes” or “No”.

These included provisions for forming a caretaker government, the Election Commission (EC) and other constitutional bodies during election periods in line with the July Charter; the introduction of a bicameral parliament with a 100-member Upper House formed proportionally based on parties’ vote share and whose majority approval would be required for constitutional amendments; and the mandatory implementation, by the next elected government, of 30 agreed reform proposals.

Those proposals cover issues such as increasing women’s representation in parliament, appointing a deputy speaker and parliamentary committee chairs from the opposition, enacting term limits for the prime minister’s seat, enhancing presidential powers, expanding fundamental rights, ensuring judicial independence and strengthening local government.

The fourth component of the implementation of other reforms outlined in the July Charter is in line with political parties’ commitments.

Alongside the referendum, voting in the parliamentary election recorded a turnout of 59.44 percent in the 297 constituencies for which results have been announced so far. Akhtar Ahmed said results from two constituencies in Chattogram would be declared later, in compliance with court directives.

The outcome of the referendum signals broad public consent for moving ahead with the constitutional reform agenda laid out in the July Charter, election officials said.