Staff correspondent 

BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed on Wednesday said his party does not support a proposal for the formation of National Constitutional Council (NCC) to recruit some key constitutional posts and bodies as the proposed council has no accountability.

“We as a democratic party can’t support any institution that has authority, power, and functions but no accountability. Creating a separate organ with such functions will lead to an imbalanced situation,” he said.

Salahuddin made the remarks at a press briefing following Wednesday’s session of the second round of reform talks between the National Consensus Commission and political parties, held at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital.

He explained that the NCC is a proposal by the reform commissions that suggests a nine-member council headed by the President.

The council will include the Prime Minister, the leader of the opposition, speakers of both the upper house and the lower house, the Chief Justice, two deputy speakers nominated by the opposition and another member from both houses combined.

The NCC will remain effective until the appointment of the Chief Adviser.

After the Chief Adviser’s appointment, a five-member body consisting of the Chief Adviser, two advisers, the President and the Chief Justice will take over during the election period.

Rizvi hopes interim govt will quickly fulfill election promises

The NCC’s functions and authority will 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.

The proposed council will also be able to recommend the name for the appointment of the Chief Adviser of the caretaker government before the President.

Salahuddin said they (BNP) earlier explained why they cannot agree with this NCC concept and reiterated that the functions and responsibilities proposed for this NCC are already carried out by the executive branch through various laws and constitutional provisions.

“We can ask, or you (journalists) can ask-- with so much responsibility and power, and (to carry out) so many appointments, where is the accountability? Is there accountability? There is no one. We cannot support any institution without accountability,” he said.

Refuting an argument for the NCC that anarchy creates in the country as these appointments are done by the chief executive (of the government), the BNP leader said, “What we need is a balanced state structure, social system, and governance system. "Had there been a caretaker government, the elections wouldn’t have been held in this manner."

He said the entire parliament couldn’t be abolished or the entire executive branch couldn’t be blamed for these problems.

He stressed that if the Election Commission is allowed to function independently and constitutionally, the executive branch and Parliament would permanently lose their authoritarian grip. If there are any faults (in these systems), it will be addressed by an independent judiciary. For this reason, BNP proposes complete independence of the judiciary, said Salahuddin.

He said they hope that there would be gradual progress towards a truly independent judiciary through some court verdicts, constitutional reforms and ratifications. “Then these systems will be well-guarded.”

Some 30 political parties, including BNP, NCP and Jamaat joined Wednesday's reform discussion presided over by Vice Chairman of the Consensus Commission Prof Ali Riaz. Alongside NCC formation and the authority of the President was discussed on Wednesday.

However, Prof Ali Riaz at a press briefing said political parties feel the need for a constitutional body to handle appointments to the constitutional posts. “Although a couple of parties differ on some principles, all opted for establishing a constitutional mechanism,” he said.

He said the commission is considering two proposals regarding presidential elections—one from the Constitutional Reform Commission and another from the Electoral Reform Commission. Discussions on expanding presidential powers and balancing authority will continue, said Prof Ali Riaz.

On Thursday, the tenure of Prime Minister and the basic principles of the state alongside the unfinished issues including the President’s appointment are scheduled to be discussed in the reform talks.