New Constitution essential to implement July Charter, says NCP

The National Citizen Party (NCP) has called for a Constituent Assembly election and the drafting of a new Constitution to implement the proposed July Charter.

Speaking at the party’s Banglamotor office on Saturday, NCP Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain said the current draft reveals a tendency to defer key decisions to the next parliament, which he warned would undermine the sustainability of the reform process.

“For durable implementation, there is no alternative to a Constituent Assembly election and the drafting of a new Constitution,” he added.

Akhter argued that the constitutional structure is set to undergo a fundamental overhaul, and such changes cannot be sustained without rewriting the Constitution from the ground up.

He said a fresh Constitution must be framed -- one whose foundational legitimacy cannot be questioned in the High Court or the Supreme Court.

“But here, the draft says that commitments and proposals will prevail over the Constitution. In reality, the core constitution cannot be questioned, only amendments and proposals can be,” he added. “Those can be challenged in the High Court, and the Supreme Court may be asked for interpretation. That legal grey area still exists.”

Commenting on the draft, Akhtar said the document was supposed to be titled the July Charter.

“But when the commission presented it, they marked it as the July National Charter. We believe that in the context of the Uprising, the people imagined a new state structure, and that document should be called the July Charter.

“By renaming it the July National Charter, the contribution of the people’s July movement has been undermined.”

To ensure the Charter’s effectiveness, Akhtar said a Constituent Assembly election must be held, and the agreed principles should be adopted as guiding directives in the new Constitution.