The National Consensus Commission has decided that the Upper House of Parliament will consist of 100 seats, and members will be nominated through a Proportional Representation (PR) system. Under this system, seats will be distributed among political parties based on their share of votes in the national election.
The decision was announced after extensive discussions within the commission. However, the BNP and its allied parties have opposed this decision, demanding that Upper House seats be allocated based on the number of parliamentary seats won by parties in the national election.
The announcement came during the 23rd day of the second phase of talks between political parties and the commission, held at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka on Thursday.
Professor Ali Riaz, Vice-President of the National Consensus Commission, said: We will work to finalise the charter quickly and hand it over to you. Based on this, a signing ceremony will also be planned.
He expressed hope that the ongoing dialogue would conclude by the end of the day, after which a comprehensive list of agreements and disagreements would be shared with all parties.
The debate on how members of the Upper House should be selected dominated Thursday’s session as well. The commission proposed the PR system, supported by parties such as the National Citizen Party (NCP) and Jamaat-e-Islami. Conversely, BNP and its allies demanded seat allocation based on the number of seats won in the national parliament.
Due to persistent disagreements among parties, the matter was entrusted to the commission, which subsequently decided on the PR method.
According to the commission’s proposal, the Upper House will not have independent law-making powers. Except for money bills, all other bills must be presented in both houses. The Upper House will review and analyse bills passed by the Lower House and must approve or reject them within a set timeframe. If the Upper House fails to act within one month, the bill will be deemed approved.
If the Upper House rejects a bill, it will be sent back to the Lower House with recommendations for amendment, which the Lower House may accept in full, partially, or reject outright.
BNP, the Nationalist Alliance, the 12-Party Alliance, NDM, and LDP opposed the commission’s decision, demanding seat allocation based on parliamentary results.
Meanwhile, parties like the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), the Socialist Party of Bangladesh (BASAD), and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam opposed the very formation of an Upper House, arguing that it is unnecessary in the current socio-economic context.
Thursday’s meeting was attended by leaders from 30 political parties, including BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, NCP, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, CPB, and Ganosamhati Andolon.
The session was moderated by Monir Hayder, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser (National Consensus Commission), and attended by commission members Safar Raj Hossain, Justice Emdadul Haque, Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar, Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, and Aiyub Mia.
