BNP opposes local govt polls under caretaker; Jamaat, NCP extends support

BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed has said that his party does not support holding local government elections under a non-partisan caretaker government.

Speaking to journalists during the lunch break of the ongoing dialogue, he said the BNP believes the tenure of the caretaker government should not exceed three months, even though the commission has proposed extending it to four months.

Regarding Article 70 of the constitution, Salahuddin said the party has proposed including national security issues, alongside votes of confidence, finance bills, and constitutional amendments, as areas where MPs should not be allowed to vote freely.

"In case of a war-like situation, members of parliament must not have the ability to vote against the party. This should be reflected in Article 70," he said, adding that BNP would submit a 'note of dissent' on this issue.

He also clarified that the BNP does not support the proposal to appoint opposition party members as heads of all parliamentary standing committees.

"We believe it's not a realistic proposal. While some committees may be led by the opposition, not all should be," he said.

Salahuddin further mentioned that discussions on women's reserved seats have yet to take place.

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Meanwhile, Sarwar Tusher, joint convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP), expressed support for holding local government elections under a caretaker government.

He also suggested renaming the arrangement as an "election-time interim/caretaker government."

Tusher said there is some consensus on allowing MPs to vote freely, except those involving no-confidence votes and finance bills.

However, no agreement has been reached on allowing MPs freedom to vote on national security issues or constitutional amendments that conflict with the party line.

He added that proposals have also been made regarding whether the presidential election should fall under Article 70.

Jamaat-e-Islami has similarly expressed support for holding both national and local elections under a non-partisan caretaker government.

"Our proposal is that both national and local government elections should be held under the caretaker government," said Jamaat's Nayeb-e-ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher.

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Jamaat also proposed amending Article 70 of the constitution to allow MPs to vote independently on all matters except finance bills, votes of no confidence, and constitutional amendments.

Taher noted that these points have been included in Jamaat's proposals during the second round of dialogue with the National Consensus Commission.

While the BNP has reportedly agreed to the proposal of not allowing MPs to vote independently on finance bills, no confidence votes, and constitutional amendments, it has also suggested that MPs must follow the party line on other key national issues.

When asked about Jamaat's position, Taher said, "Emergency situations will be handled accordingly, but our opinion is limited to the three proposed amendments to Article 70."

Following the lunch break, the dialogue between 30 political parties and the National Consensus Commission resumed at 2:40pm.