The Constitution Reform Commission submitted its report to interim government chief Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday, recommending the replacement of the state principles of secularism, socialism, and nationalism. The commission, established by the Yunus administration following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina amid a student-led mass agitation, besides recommending secularism, socialism, also proposed introducing a bicameral parliament and a two-term limit for the prime minister’s tenure.
The existing four fundamental principles of state policy include secularism, socialism, nationalism, and democracy. Under the new proposals, only “democracy” remains unchanged. Commission chairman Ali Riaz explained in a video statement that the proposed five state principles—equality, human dignity, social justice, pluralism, and democracy—reflect the ideals of the 1971 Liberation War and the aspirations of the 2024 mass uprising.
The report presented to Yunus retains “democracy” in the constitution’s preamble alongside the new principles. It also recommends a bicameral parliament comprising a National Assembly with 105 seats and a Senate with 400 seats, each with a four-year term, replacing the current five-year term. The National Assembly would be based on majority representation, while the Senate would follow proportional representation.
The commission argued that Bangladesh’s recent autocratic tendencies stemmed from the concentration of power in the prime minister’s office. To address this, it proposed a two-term limit for the prime minister and the creation of a National Constitutional Council. This council, comprising the president, chief justice, prime minister, opposition leader, speakers, deputy speakers, and representatives of other parties, aims to balance power and enhance accountability.
Additionally, the commission suggested reinstating the referendum system for constitutional amendments, which currently requires a two-thirds parliamentary majority. Since its adoption in 1971, the constitution has been amended 17 times.
The Anti-Discrimination Students Movement, which led the uprising that toppled Sheikh Hasina’s nearly 16-year Awami League regime, criticized the current constitution as a “Mujibist” charter, referencing Bangladesh’s founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. They demanded its repeal, a stance opposed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
The BNP, after a virtual meeting with acting Chairperson Tarique Rahman, reiterated its commitment to reforms. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir emphasized that reform is an ongoing process, highlighting the party’s previous initiatives like “Vision 2030” and a 31-point plan introduced in 2023.
Despite the political turmoil, which has seen senior leaders and cabinet members either in jail or on the run, the BNP has called for general elections in July-August this year, opposing Yunus’s plan to delay the polls until the end of the year or mid-2026.
