Jamaat's push for PR system is a strategic masquerade, says NCP’s Nahid

He says the party’s agenda was never reform; it was all political manoeuvring

The National Citizen Party Convenor Nahid Islam has denounced the Jamaat-e-Islami’s demand for general elections under proportional representation (PR) system as a deliberate “political deception”.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, Nahid sharply criticised the Jamaat’s recent political activities.

“Jamaat’s so-called PR movement is nothing but calculated political deception. It aimed to divert the Election Commission’s reform process and shift the national dialogue on state and constitutional reconstruction away from the spirit of the Uprising,” he wrote.

Nahid did not comment on other parties pursuing PR or reforms alongside Jamaat.

The NCP did not sign the July National Charter due to differences over implementation, but has remained firm on registration and symbol allocation.

Other parties, including Jamaat, AB Party, and Gono Odhikar Parishad, which share a closer stance to the NCP on the July Charter, did sign.

The NCP has long demanded a constitutional order to implement the July Charter, legally validated through a national referendum. Now, eight like-minded parties, including Jamaat, are seeking the same constitutional safeguard.

Nahid said, “Fundamental reforms, such as establishing an Upper Chamber based on proportional representation, were intended as a constitutional safeguard.

“I had called for a movement to embed the July Charter within the legal framework based on these reforms and national unity. But Jamaat and its allies hijacked the agenda, reducing it to a PR issue to serve their narrow political interests. Reform was never their goal; it was manipulation.”

He added, “Jamaat never genuinely engaged in reform discussions -- neither before nor after the July Uprising. They offered no foundational proposals, no vision for the Constitution, and no commitment to a democratic state.

“Their sudden alignment with the reform commission was a strategic masquerade, political treachery under the guise of reform.”

He said the Bangladeshi people now recognise Jamaat’s game and will no longer be deceived by false reforms or cunning manoeuvres.

“Neither the creator nor the country’s independent-minded citizens will accept governance by a corrupt, self-serving, and morally bankrupt group,” he said.