NCC set to hold talks with political parties today

The National Consensus Commission (NCC) is set to hold its second round of discussions with political parties starting today, aiming to build national consensus on reform initiatives.

The meetings will take place individually, in phases. The first phase of discussions will begin at 3.00pm with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the LD Hall of the National Parliament.

A six-member delegation from the LDP, led by party president and retired Colonel Oli Ahmed, will attend the meeting. The delegation also includes Secretary General Dr. Redwan Ahmed, Presidium members Dr. Neyamul Bashir, Dr. Aurangzeb Belal, Principal K. Q. Saqlain, and Professor Omar Farooq.

The schedules for talks with other political parties will be announced gradually, according to a notification issued on Thursday (18 March).

A total of 15 political parties have provided their opinions so far. While many parties have submitted their views, 23 parties, including BNP, Jamaat, and NCP, have yet to send their responses. BNP has requested until next week, while Jamaat and NCP need a few more days.

The 15 parties are include Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Khelafat Majlish, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh, Zaker Party, Bhasani Onusari Parishad, Nationalist Democratic Movement (NDM), Amjanatar Dal, Rashtra Sanskar Andolon, Bangladesh Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-Bangladesh Jasad, Bangladesh Labour Party, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish, Amar Bangladesh Party (AB Party), Nagorik Oikya, Jatiya Ganofront and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD).

Besides, 14 more political parties have requested additional time to finalise their opinions, while the Consensus Commission is reaching out again to the remaining nine parties.

The National Consensus Commission, formed to create a national consensus on reforms under the leadership of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, began its activities on 15 February.

The commission identified 166 key recommendations for feedback from political parties on key recommendations, including constitutional, public administration, electoral, judiciary reforms, and the Anti-Corruption Commission, and sent them to 38 parties in early March. They were asked to submit their opinions by March 13, but only seven parties met the deadline.

After the fall of the Awami League government in the August 5 student-public uprising, the interim government formed 11 commissions in two phases to reform state sectors for democratic transition. The reports of six commissions from the first phase were published in February.