Dhaka: Shushasoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan) Secretary and National Consensus Commission member Dr. Badiul Alam Majumder emphasized that the success of the July National Charter is dependent on its implementation. Speaking at a citizen dialogue titled ‘Proposed July Charter and Citizen Thoughts’ organized by Shujan, Dr. Majumder highlighted the strong public support for reforms and stressed the importance of sincere efforts by political parties to strengthen democracy and earn public trust.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the event held at the CIRDAP auditorium in Dhaka was chaired by Shujan acting president Justice MA Matin. Notable attendees included former Comptroller and Auditor General Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury, Chief Adviser’s Special Assistant Manir Haidar, Senior Research Fellow Dr. Mirza Hasan, Joint Editor of Dainik Prothom Alo Sohrab Hasan, and Dhaka University teacher Dr. Asif Mohammad Sahan. Ekram Hossain, a national committee member of Shujan, presented the keynote paper.
Dr. Majumder pointed out that the responsibility for implementing the July Charter lies with the government, political parties, and the Election Commission. During the dialogue, Muslim Chowdhury suggested that a referendum could be the best way to implement the National Charter, though he also questioned the proposal of forming an upper house.
Manir Haider expressed disappointment over political parties’ reluctance to allocate one-third of parliamentary seats to women, despite the commission’s recommendation. However, he acknowledged the progress made by the commission over the past six months as promising.
Concerns about the effectiveness of a referendum for the July Charter were raised by Asif Mohammad Sahan, citing the significant dissenting votes. Dr. Mirza Hasan added that although citizens are the theoretical owners of the country, this is not reflected in practice, and expressed concerns over the complexity of putting numerous reforms to a referendum at once.
Ekram Hossain detailed Shujan’s efforts since 2013 in formulating the National Charter, culminating in a draft prepared after 15 citizen dialogues and public opinion surveys, which was submitted to the consensus commission.