By July, a national charter could be ready: Riaz Ali

By July, a national charter could be ready: Riaz Ali

Ali Riaz speaks at the second round of talks held by the national consensus commission to complete unfinished discussion with the political partiesShuvra Kanti Das

According to Ali Riaz, co-chair of the national consensus panel, the July Charter might be ready by July of this year. "The July Charter will be prepared by the national consensus panel by the end of July," he stated.

Ali Riaz was addressing at the national consensus commission's second round of negotiations, which was organized to wrap up outstanding business with the political parties. The talks started at approximately 11:45 p.m. today, Tuesday, in the Foreign Service Academy's Doel Hall, located on Bailey Road in the capital.

Representatives from the BNP, NCP, Islami Andolan, Nagorik Oikya, Gono Odhikar Parishad, Gono Sanghati Andolan, and other political groups participated in the conversation. At the meeting, no Jamaat-e-Islami leader showed up.
"The national consensus commission is dedicated to preparing the National Charter within July," stated Ali Riaz, co-chair of the national consensus committee. We genuinely appreciate the assistance that all political parties and leaders are providing in this matter.

"We hope that if the process continues, we will be able to attain our goal," Ali Riaz stated. Even if we disagree on some subjects, we are working to come to an overall consensus. He stated, "Even if we might not be able to agree on every subject, we can nevertheless make certain compromises for the benefit of the state and the country in order to come to an agreement. We cannot promise that we will be able to resolve every issue. 

The issues discussed at today's meeting included Article 70 of the constitution, nominating heads of the standing committees, women's representation, and more.

Talks were also held on a bicameral parliament (with an upper and lower house), the process of appointing the chief justice and several other issues. The commission is scheduled to hold discussions on 17, 18 and 19 June with the political parties.
Attending the discussion on behalf of the national consensus commission are Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, Safar Raj Hossain, Badiul Alam Majumdar, Iftekharuzzaman and others.