NCC to act on parties consensus, not impose decisions

The National Consensus Commission (NCC) will not impose any decisions on its own as it will work out an execution plan based on what political parties want, Commission Vice-Chairman Prof Ali Riaz said on Thursday.

He made the remarks as the commission resumed talks in the morning at the Foreign Service Academy with political parties on implementing the July Charter.

“The cooperation the commission has received so far from all political parties has been remarkable,” Prof Riaz said, adding that almost every party has made concessions from its original positions.

He went on to say, “This spirit of consensus has enabled preliminary agreement on 84 issues. The success of implementing reforms in these areas will determine Bangladesh’s future trajectory.”

While some reforms would be undertaken by the interim government, others would be implemented later through elected representatives, said Prof Riaz, adding, “The commission will consult an expert panel to decide which reforms the interim government can pursue immediately but will not dictate actions for elected representatives after polls.”

Ahead of Thursday’s dialogue, the NCC reviewed earlier expert opinions and political party feedback on implementation strategies.

On September 7, the commission held an extensive meeting with experts to finalise the charter and assess execution methods.

Multiple informal talks with parties and alliances had also been conducted prior to the formal session.