July Charter referendum still needed if polls are not held at right time: Jamaat deputy chief

As the July Charter is a matter of reforms it is not correct to combine it with the election, says Abdullah Mohammad Taher

If, for some reason, the 13th national parliamentary election is not held “at the scheduled time”, the July Charter can still be passed and a referendum should thus be held prior to it, says Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer Abdullah Mohammad Taher.

He said, "If for some reason the national election cannot be held at the right time -- we hope, In Sha Allah, it will be held at the right time -- then the July Charter will still have to be passed."

"The July Charter is a matter of reform so I have never thought it was right to combine the two issues because it can lead to uncertainty regarding the July Charter."

Taher made the remarks to the media after a meeting with a Commonwealth delegation to Bangladesh led by Linford Andrews, advisor to the Commonwealth's “Electoral Support” branch and head of “Pre-Election Assessment”, at the Jamaat-e-Islami central office on Wednesday.

Reiterating that the party wants a referendum before the July Charter is passed, Taher said: "We think that a referendum before the national election is the right decision. And a separate referendum should be held before the national election.

"Because the referendum is about public opinion on the July Charter. On reforms. And the national election is an election to determine the statehood of the country. Therefore, the two have different characters.

"The July Charter is a very important document for bringing change to the lives of the nation. This is very important because this change was not started in the last 55 years.

“There was no reform before this."

On Tuesday, the National Consensus Commission handed over the recommendations for the implementation of the July National Charter to Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus. The recommendations stated that a constitutional order should be issued and a referendum on the July Charter should be held on or before the 13th National Assembly election.

Consensus Commission Vice-Chairman Ali Riaz said, "We have said this in writing. Apart from this, we have told the government today to immediately discuss this issue with the Election Commission and prepare a schedule for the (referendum) vote."

The EC is preparing for the national elections in the first half of February, before Ramadan. The schedule is expected to be announced in the first half of December.

This means there are one and a half months left before the schedule to be announced. In the meantime, if the government decides to do so, the electoral body will have to arrange a working plan for the referendum alongside preparations for the parliamentary elections.

Taher said that the delegation was also informed at the meeting that Jamaat has taken all the necessary preparations for a fair election.

They also demanded that CCTV cameras be installed in polling booths and the Army, Border Guard Bangladesh, and Rapid Action Battalion personnel be deployed at the polling stations.