BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed has said that his party supports increasing the number of reserved seats for women in parliament from 50 to 100, also mentioning that it favours the formation of an upper house in parliament based on proportional representation by elected members of the lower house.
Speaking at a press briefing after the 13th day of the second phase of discussions with the National Consensus Commission at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, Salahuddin explained that, given the current realities, it is difficult to directly elect women to 33% of parliamentary seats.
Therefore, he said, the BNP favours a gradual approach to increasing women’s representation.
He said that while the Representation of the People Order (RPO) calls for 33% female participation in party committees, even that has not been fully achieved.
Under such conditions, directly nominating women for 33% of parliamentary seats is not realistic, Salahuddin said, citing social, political, and religious constraints.
He emphasized that the BNP has historically supported women’s participation.
“Former president Ziaur Rahman established the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and increased the number of women’s reserved seats from 16 to 30. Later, then-prime minister Khaleda Zia raised it to 45, and it now stands at 50.”
Salahuddin said the number may increase further over time.
Regarding the formation of an upper house in parliament, he said the BNP supports including individuals in the upper house who have made significant contributions to society and the state.
However, he noted, this should be done proportionally based on the representation of elected members in the lower house.
He described the proposal for direct elections to the upper house—consisting of 76 members from 64 districts and 12 metropolitan areas—as “unusual.”