July Charter must not take precedence over constitution

If the July Charter is allowed to override the constitution, it would set a dangerous precedent for the nation, BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed said yesterday.

He said his party opposes the provision preventing any court from questioning the charter.

"No questions can be raised in any court about the validity, necessity, or promulgation of this charter… Has the constitution granted this authority to anyone?" he asked.

Speaking to the media at his Gulshan residence, Salahuddin also pointed out inconsistencies in the draft July Charter and said his party would give its final opinion only after those are corrected.

He noted that many recommendations could be implemented through ordinances or executive orders, and the current government is already doing this.

He added that several of those issues do not even require an executive order.

The BNP leader affirmed that his party would implement the pledges on which consensus was reached, emphasising that only matters requiring constitutional amendments should be placed before the new parliament after the national election.

"The issues on which there was consensus will get legitimacy once they are placed before the parliament."

He criticised one of the proposals of the charter, which said the Appellate Division will be authorised to make the final determination on any question relating to the interpretation of its provisions, proposals, or recommendations.

"This is not rational," he added.

Salahuddin argued that under the constitution, the Appellate Division can only hear appeals against High Court judgments. "But interpreting a consensus document or determining its validity does not fall under the court's jurisdiction."

He added that tasking the Appellate Division with interpreting the July Charter would "create many complications".

Also yesterday, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said his party will not accept a proportional representation (PR) system of election, as "people of Bangladesh are not familiar with it,"

"The people do not know or understand it," he told reporters at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after returning home from Thailand.

The PR is an electoral system in which seats in a legislative body are allocated in close proportion to the share of votes each party receives. In other words, if a party wins, say, 30 percent of votes, it should receive approximately 30 percent of the seats in parliament.

He said the system prevents voters from electing their representatives through direct voting.

"The people of Bangladesh want an election because it's the only way to overcome the political and economic crises the country is facing."

Fakhrul said his party is in favour of a free and fair election as per the traditional system.

In the PR system, he said, voters do not know for whom they are casting their votes. "That cannot be acceptable."