Old habits die hard? BNP’s response

An opinion piece titled "BNP's notes of dissent show that old habits die hard," published on October 29, 2025, in The Daily Star, has caught our attention. We appreciate the author's attempt; however, it could be construed as if BNP has outright opposed state reforms by the interim government. The fact remains that the party has submitted notes of dissent to some proposals in July National Charter that it deems exaggerated and amendable in BNP's terms. Moreover, as BNP stated, it would include its entire reform proposals in its election manifesto so that voters could understand the length and breadth of the reform package and give their verdict. Therefore, we do not see how BNP's "old habits die hard."

In the article, the author has apparently discussed four issues to justify his claim about BNP. It would have been better if the author had also presented the party's arguments supporting its decisions. In this article, we have tried to summarise BNP's position on those four issues.

Upper house formation and PR concerns

BNP had proposed forming an upper house to enrich the nation with the input of experienced citizens in its 31-point reform plan on the basis of proportionate seats in the lower house of parliament. Nonetheless, the party objects to the proposal for creating an upper house via PR based on national vote share. BNP doubts this upper house formation because it thinks that if the formation follows the PR system, this process can be used as a political weapon. Furthermore, BNP thinks that this institution of a PR-based upper chamber would just create a "sitting duck" or threat for the lower chamber, only delaying the lower chamber's work.

Prime minister's tenure

BNP supports the proposal of limiting a person's tenure as prime minister to a maximum of 10 years in their lifetime, but expressed reservations about the proposed constitutional appointment committee, or National Constitutional Council (NCC). According to BNP, it may significantly disrupt the executive power in an irregular way, and also reduce the prime minister's power, which is not a healthy exercise for a democratic country. Another reason is that the transparency and accountability of this constitutional committee cannot be determined so easily. If they are corrupt, and if executive power is not the source of all powers, then it will be a big threat to the country's political stability. Here, BNP wants reforms in the existing laws regarding the appointments of constitutional institutions. These laws must include provisions for determining search committees to ensure that executive influence is avoided in the appointment process. To address this issue, BNP suggests that for institutions without existing laws, new laws should be enacted. For those with existing laws, amendments should be made. This will help ensure the checks and balances of power in the state.

Formation of National Constitutional Council (NCC)

According to BNP, the NCC would have created a diarchy, and the power of the prime minister would have been reduced, threatening the democratic system. Apart from that, BNP pointed out that under the NCC, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC)cannot exercise its highest power. Also, BNP doubted that if NCC were implemented, then the judiciary would be crippled, and the implementation of the rule of law would not be easy.

Article 70

BNP proposes that members of parliament can independently exercise their voting power, even if it is not aligned with their party, except in instances of national security, fiscal legislation, no-confidence motions and constitutional amendments. BNP believes that the proposed amendment in July charter would overpower the opposition party and significantly increase the risk of an unstable government, the cost of which the country cannot bear.

Does BNP not want the execution of the charter? The party has signed the charter in compliance with the government's proposals. But it believes the February election issue should be at the forefront to elect a government that will implement the provisions of the charter duly, including major constitutional matters, to ensure the government's accountability. BNP has even accepted the government's move to hold a referendum on the July National Charter issue. Tarique Rahman, in his recent interviews with global media, has made it clear that the party, if voted to power, will do the needful to materialise the July charter as agreed. Moreover, many aspects of the charter align with BNP's 31- point of reform. So, those will easily be implemented.

We believe that the biggest "reform" the nation needs is a credible election, which has already been delayed, causing economic and social stagnation, and ordinary people of the country are paying the price. Surprisingly, though, this underlying issue at this defining moment is being ignored and bypassed. People's desire was well-reflected in a survey of Innovision Consulting published in February 2025. The survey results revealed that 58.1 percent of voters wanted the next national election before the end of 2025. Out of that 58.1 percent, 31.6 percent wanted it in June 2025, and 26.5 percent wanted the election in December 2025. Therefore, it is important for us to take a careful position and not to fuel a narrative that BNP is an anti-reformist party and only wants elections, when a democratic transition through a credible election has become very critical for the country.

We believe BNP will remain fully committed to implementing the July National Charter with a dream of fulfilling its own 31 well-knit points. Besides, BNP's political history and previous terms as a ruling party reveal a proven track record of working for democracy and people's welfare. It is BNP's "old habits" to work for the people, and those habits definitely die hard.

Prof Dr Moudud Hossain Alamgir Pavel is convener of the media cell of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Dr Abdullah-Al-Mamun is chairman of Democracy Dias Bangladesh.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own. 

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