The newly formed political party, National Citizen Party (NCP), born out of a revolution aims to establish the Second Republic in Bangladesh.
During the party’s inaugural event, they announced plans to hold a ‘Constituent Assembly election’ and draft a ‘new constitution’.
On the other hand, several major political parties, including the BNP are calling for the declaration of a roadmap for the national election. Against this backdrop, the question arises as to whether the Constituent Assembly election or the parliamentary election should be prioritized. This issue has sparked intense debate in political circles regarding the future direction of the country's politics.
BNP’s Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said, "Those who are bringing up the Constituent Assembly, those who are talking about the Second Republic, either they don’t understand or they are plotting to further prolong the path of bringing our political system to a democratic one."
NCP's convenor, Nahid Islam, said in the party's declaration on Friday, "The 2024 mass uprising has started the struggle to establish our Second Republic. Through the creation of a new democratic constitution, we must end all possibilities of re-establishing constitutional dictatorship. The establishment of our Second Republic and the drafting of a new constitution through the Constituent Assembly election is one of our primary goals."
This call for the ‘Second Republic’ and the ‘Constituent Assembly election’ has sparked intense discussion within the country’s political landscape. Several parties, including BNP and the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), believe that calling for a Constituent Assembly election is essentially a plan to delay the national election.
At an event on Saturday in the capital, BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed said, "If you want to give a new constitution, that’s fine; but why call it a Constituent Assembly, we don’t understand."
He further said, "A Constituent Assembly is needed when there is no constitution in the country or after the formation of a new state. The members of the Constituent Assembly create the constitution, and parliamentary elections are held afterward based on that constitution."
"Has a new independent state been formed here to justify the need for a Constituent Assembly election?" questioned Salahuddin Ahmed, a member of BNP's Standing Committee.
Ruhin Hossain Prince is general secretary of Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) said, "They are demanding the Second Republic and the Constituent Assembly election, talking about constitutional changes, that's why they have brought up the issue of the Constituent Assembly election. When we raised the issue of the national parliamentary election, they are talking about the Constituent Assembly election. This means, while we are talking about the democratic process of a national election, they are going against it."
When asked about this, NCP's Joint Secretary Mushfiq-us-Salehin told Bangladesh Pratidin, "One of the eight key points the National Citizen Committee has been focusing on is the call for a Constituent Assembly election. We are demanding that the upcoming parliamentary election be treated as the Constituent Assembly election, and it should be organized as such. There will be no difference between this and a regular parliamentary election. The elected Constituent Assembly will create a new constitution and declare the Second Republic. Once this task is completed, they will continue their regular duties as parliament members for the remainder of their term."
(Translated by Afia Nanjiba Ibnat)
Bd-pratidin English
