The National Citizen Party (NCP) has stated that announcing the election roadmap without reaching a decision on finalising and implementing the July National Charter amounts to a breach of promise by the National Consensus Commission (NCC) and the interim government.
The Election Commission (EC) announced the election roadmap on Thursday afternoon.
At a press conference organised in response, NCP Senior Joint Convenor Ariful Islam Adeeb said, "We had hoped that before announcing the election roadmap, the government would first publish a roadmap showing adequate progress on reforms.
"But we are disappointed to see that, for unknown reasons, the next round of meetings of the NCC has been postponed and no method has yet been determined to give the July Charter a legal basis."
He added that announcing the election roadmap without finalising the July Charter or deciding on how it would be implemented is tantamount to a breach of promise from the government and the NCC.
Expressing surprise at the election roadmap, Adib said, "While discussions were ongoing, the chief adviser unilaterally announced the election timeline, which shocked us. Still, considering the nation's greater interests, we accepted it. The chief adviser announced that elections could be held the week before Ramadan in 2026. In that case, sufficient progress must be made regarding reforms and justice before that time."
However, he also acknowledged the necessity of an election.
"We believe that an election is necessary for a democratic transformation of the state and to move it away from fascist structures. We are not against elections in any way. From that perspective, the announcement of the roadmap is a positive step. However, the sooner the July Charter is given a legal basis, the sooner we can proceed towards elections. Moving forward with election preparations without finalising the implementation process of the charter may lead to future crises, for which the government will have to bear responsibility."
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