The BNP staged a walk out on the 20th day of the National Consensus Commission's dialogue on Monday in objection to the methods of making appointments for the Public Service Commission (PSC), Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the Ombudsman.
The party later rejoined the talks around 12:16pm.
Zoom Out: The Constitutional Reform Commission had proposed a National Constitutional Council for Bangladesh, which would play a pivotal role in ensuring transparency, accountability, and balance among various state institutions.
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The NCC will advise the president on the appointment of individuals to various key positions, including the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners, the attorney general and additional attorneys general, chiefs of other government bodies and armed forces.
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This would also include appointments to the PSC, ACC, CAG and Ombudsman.
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NCC members will include the president, prime minister, leader of the opposition, speakers of the lower and upper houses, the chief justice and others.
Zoom in: The BNP walkout comes as the party has repeatedly said it does not want the National Constitutional Council or any similar body for appointing individuals to constitutional positions to be incorporated into the Constitution.
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During the staged walkout, BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed stated, "We are walking out for a while because we clearly said that forming appointment committees for certain institutions and incorporating them into the Constitution would create complications in the functioning of the state and the government."
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As early as June this year, Salahuddin Ahmed had said his party did not support a proposal for the formation of the National Constitutional Council to recruit some key constitutional posts and bodies, as the proposed council has no accountability.
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The BNP prefers reforms of the existing appointment-related laws to transform the constitutional and statutory institutions to be independent, transparent and accountable instead of forming a new constitutional body.
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The party has warned that putting constitutional and statutory appointments beyond the executive's control will result in a weak and ineffective government.
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The BNP has also expressed that a body such as the National Constitutional Council would have unchecked power, among other concerns.
To be noted: During a dialogue session with 30 political parties on June 25, National Consensus Commission Vice-Chairman Professor Ali Riaz had asked the BNP for the logic behind the criticism of forming the council. Neither the BNP nor any of its allies answered the vice-chair's question.
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BNP's Salahuddin had also said that his party would support limiting the prime minister's term to a maximum of 10 years if there was no constitutional council or appointment committee.
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On Monday, the BNP agreed to the setting of the term limit alongside other political parties.
What happens now:
- Communist Party of Bangladesh General Secretary Ruhin Hossain Prince has said if a party was not discussing a vital issue, then consensus could not be reached.
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Ali Riaz informed the discussion that even if BNP did not partake, the agenda could not be dropped just because of it.
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"If one political party decides not to join, that doesn't mean we will suspend our discussions. In the past, several parties have walked out or boycotted temporarily, but the dialogue has always continued," he said. If other parties also think the discussion would not be effective without the BNP, the commission would consider the matter, Riaz added.
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Salahuddin said, "No one has claimed that there will be consensus on every issue. There will be disagreements and differing opinions, and it is through these that the struggle for democracy progresses. Consensus means moving forward together with everyone. If the BNP does not participate, questions remain as to how national consensus can be reached."
What else BNP said:
Salahuddin, who has been leading the BNP delegation at the dialogues, also said there were questions about whether the Ombudsman should be upgraded and a secretariat should be established.
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He said the Ombudsman, its power, functions, etc are already mentioned in Article 77 of the Constitution.
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He further said no controversy has been raised since independence over appointing Comptroller and Auditor General.
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"It would be a difficult task to change anything, if these institutions are included in the constitution".
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He also said BNP feels the series of meeting held by National Consensus Commission have led to a position where the country is equipped to prevent a fascist or autocratic ruler.
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