National Consensus Commission

The commission identified several recommendations from six reform commissions as immediately actionable, to be implemented through legal or administrative means. It discussed 166 key proposals with political parties in the country.

In the first phase, the commission met separately with 33 political parties and alliances, and later it began issue-based discussions on 20 unresolved fundamental proposals. Consensus was reached on 62 issues, mainly from the Judicial Reform Commission and the Anti-Corruption Commission, along with six from the Public Administration Reform Commission. The Constitutional Reform Commission submitted 18 proposals, including the formation of a bicameral parliament, which gained support from 30 parties but remained unresolved due to disagreement over its structure.

In the second phase, consensus was reached on 14 additional issues.^[7]

In the post July Uprising context, the seven-member National Consensus Commission, formed in February 2025, reviewed proposals from 11 reform commissions and conducted a 72-day dialogue in three phases with various political parties and stakeholders to develop a consensus-based framework for political and administrative reforms. Among the 166 issues raised in the first phase, consensus was reached on 64, which later formed the basis for the July Charter containing 28 commitments.^[8][9][10]

The draft text was finalized on 28 July and sent to the political parties for feedback. After discussions on implementation procedures throughout August and September, the draft was finalized on 11 September, and the final copies were delivered to the parties between 14 and 15 October.^[11][12][13]

The charter included commitments for reforms relating to state structure, democratic governance, administrative transparency, and citizen participation. On 17 October, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and representatives from 25 political parties signed the charter at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad, with other two parties signing later, bringing the total to 26 political parties. Some leftist parties refrained from signing the charter.

On the day of signing, clashes outside the Parliament complex and extensive international media coverage drew significant attention. In the aftermath of the signing, the commission considered the possibility of a referendum or alternative mechanisms to ensure the implementation of the charter.^[14][15][16]