Ali Riaz hopes to deliver ‘final roadmap’ on July Charter implementation this week

He believes the remaining issues will be settled in Wednesday’s discussion

National Consensus Commission Vice-Chairman Ali Riaz has expressed hope that the final roadmap for implementing the July Charter will be submitted to the interim government within Friday.

He shared the expectation while delivering his opening remarks at a fresh round of dialogue with political parties, held on Wednesday afternoon at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka.

“Everyone has agreed on the referendum to implement the July Charter.” he said. “The task now is to identify the next steps that will allow us to move forward collectively and ensure the Charter is implemented through a united effort.”

“We have already made progress in previous discussions and reached a common understanding on the implementation process as one step. I believe [Wednesday’s] discussions can resolve the remaining points,” he added.

He noted that the nation is closely watching the process, hopeful that a shared understanding will lead to a clear pathway for implementing the July National Charter 2025.

The Consensus Commission has already finalised the draft of the Charter by compiling the state reform proposals agreed upon by political parties and attaching a declaration of implementation.

Parties, however, remain divided over how the Charter should be enforced.

The BNP and several other parties have maintained that the Charter should be enforced by an elected parliament, whereas the Jamaat-e-Islami and some others have called for its execution before the election.

This disagreement led to a deadlock, which prompted Jamaat and its allies to propose a referendum as a way forward.

Although the BNP initially opposed the referendum, it later shifted position. The party now says a vote can take place -- but only on election day, using a separate ballot paper.

Following the fourth round of dialogue with the parties on Oct 5, Riaz said there is “consensus” on holding a referendum to decide the method of implementing the Charter.

To finalise the details and procedures of the vote, the commission reconvened on Wednesday.