Staff Correspondent

BNP on Wednesday said it supports the proposal of limiting a person’s tenure as prime minister to a maximum of 10 years during their lifetime, but expressed reservations about the proposed constitutional appointments committee.

“We agree that no one should be prime minister for more than 10 years in their lifetime. But we can’t support this proposal if there is possibility to interfere in all activities of the executive body everywhere by such bodies like NCC (National Constitutional Council) or Constitutional Appointment Committee,”  he said.

Salahuddin clarified his party’s position while briefing reporters in the afternoon after the sixth day of the second-round talks of the National Consensus Commission at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital.

Consensus Commission’s Vice Chairman  Ali Riaz at a press briefing in the afternoon said the prime minister’s tenure issue was again discussed on Wednesday but remained unresolved.

“We could not reach any consensus or conclusion in this regard. Because, the final decision over the PM’s tenure can’t be taken until we can’t reach a final decision over the appointment committee for the constitutional and statutory institutions,” he said.

Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher said his party fully supports the term-limit proposal. “No person can serve as prime minister for more than 10 years in their lifetime,” he told reporters during the lunch break.

Revised proposal on authority over key appointments:

The National Consensus Commission on Wednesday presented a revised proposal regarding the formation of an authority to oversee recruitment for certain key positions in constitutional and statutory bodies.

According to the changed proposal, the name of the authority will be “Appointment Committee for Constitutional and Statutory Institutions” instead of the National Constitutional Council (NCC). And the President and the Chief Justice would not be the committee members unlike NCC.

The seven-member appointment committee would include the Prime Minister, the opposition leader, Speakers of the Lower and Upper Houses, a representative nominated by the president, an Appellate Division justice nominated by the Chief Justice and a person from other opposition parties excluding the main opposition. The Lower House Speaker would preside over its meetings.

Prof Ali Riaz said the commission revised the proposal bringing changes in three aspects—name, membership, and authority.

“Most of the parties welcomed it (the revised proposal), while some parties raised objections to it,” he said.

He, however, said the commission has received some recommendations over it from the parties that supported this change. “So, the consensus commission will place a complete proposal based on the recommendation before the political parties next week,” he said.

About the revised proposal, Salahuddin said, “We want reforms in the existing laws regarding appointments to constitutional institutions instead. These laws must include provisions for determining search committees to ensure that executive influence is avoided in the appointment process.”

He said there should be provisions in the laws to ensure transparency and accountability of the institutions.

“For institutions without existing laws, new laws should be enacted. For those with existing laws, amendments should be made. This will help ensure a checks and balances system of power in the state,” said the BNP leader.

Jamaat’sTaher said all political parties except BNP supported the revised appointments body. “All but one party agreed. Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami fully agrees with this proposal,” he added.

In reply to a question, the Jamaat leader said the one party is Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

AB Party Chairman Mujibur Rahman Manju expressed frustration over the lack of full consensus. “If this proposal can’t be accepted eventually, nothing meaningful can be achieved,” he said.

“If this proposal can’t be accepted (finally), nothing can be achieved,” he said, adding that most of the parties supported it.

The Consensus Commission earlier proposed the formation of a nine-member national constitution council (NCC) to oversee the appointments to the key posts of the constitutional and statutory bodies.

The previous proposal said the NCC members would be the president, the prime minister, the chief justice, the opposition leader, two speakers of the lower and upper houses, two deputy speakers nominated by the opposition for the lower and the upper houses and another person from other oppositions other than the main opposition.

The proposed body’s functions and authority would cover appointments of key constitutional figures, including the Chief Election Commissioner and election commissioners, the Attorney General, Public Service Commission, Anti-Corruption Commission, the National Human Rights Commission, the proposed Local Government Commission, chiefs of the armed forces, and other posts prescribed by constitutional laws.

However, BNP opposed the original NCC proposal on grounds of lack of accountability, prompting the Commission to revise it.

Fundamental Principles:

The Consensus Commission also brought changes to its earlier proposal regarding the fundamental principles of the state.

Initially, the principles proposed were ‘equality, human dignity, social justice and democracy. The revised proposal adds ‘religious freedom, harmony and impartiality.’

Ali Riaz said no consensus was achieved yet over the fundamental principles, but most of the parties expressed support for inclusion of the five elements. A more specific proposal will be placed next week, he added.

On this issue, Salahuddin said his party proposed restoring the articles of the 5th amendment (to the constitution) here and incorporating the sentence proposed by the reform commission here.