Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami on Tuesday proposed that both national and local government elections be held under a non-partisan caretaker government.
“Our proposal is that both national and local elections must take place under a caretaker government,” Jamaat’s Nayeb-e-Ameer Dr Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher told reporters during the lunch break of the second round of talks with the National Consensus Commission.
Jamaat-e-Islami also proposed amending Article 70 of the constitution to allow MPs to vote beyond their respective party lines, except on issues related to the finance bill, vote of no confidence, and constitutional amendment.
However, BNP, in its talks with the commission, supported allowing MPs to vote beyond party lines except on four matters, which include the three mentioned above and also issues of national importance.
When his attention was drawn to Jamaat's stance regarding Article 70, Taher said: “We’ve shared our views on the three proposed exceptions regarding Article 70.”
The second day of the second round of talks began at 11am, with commission Chairman Prof Ali Riaz presiding.
Nearly 30 parties, including BNP, Jamaat, and the National Citizen Party (NCP), participated in Tuesday’s session.
On Monday, Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus opened the second phase of the dialogue.
The Consensus Commission started its first round of talks with political parties on March 20 last year to forge a national consensus on state reform initiatives undertaken by the interim government.
The commission held talks with 33 parties and alliances, including BNP, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, and the National Citizen Party (NCP), before concluding the first round of dialogues on May 19 last year.
Formed on February 15, 2025, under the leadership of Yunus, the commission was tasked with shaping a unified national stance on critical reforms.
