Reform Commission Proposes 'People's Democratic Bangladesh' with New Core Principles

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15 Jan 2025, 18:35

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The Constitution Reform Commission, led by Professor Ali Riaz, submitted its report today, Wednesday (January 15), to Chief Advisor Dr. Yunus, presenting a series of recommendations. The commission has called for significant changes to the government's constitutional name and the guiding principles of state governance.

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It has been reported that in its recommendations, Professor Ali Riaz's commission has suggested removing three of the four existing guiding principles of state governance. The report proposes retaining only democracy while adding four new principles to guide the state. Additionally, the commission has recommended changing the constitutional name from ‘People's Republic of Bangladesh’ to ‘People's Democratic Bangladesh’ and replacing the term ‘Republic’ with ‘Civic Democracy.’

The current constitution outlines four guiding principles for state governance: nationalism, socialism, democracy, and secularism. These principles were adopted in the 1972 constitution following the country's independence through the Liberation War of 1971.

Among the existing four principles, only ‘democracy’ has been retained in the proposed new set of five principles. The new principles suggested for inclusion are equality, human dignity, social justice, and pluralism.

The Reform Commission's recommendations state that these five principles reflect the ideals of the 1971 Liberation War and the aspirations of the 2024 mass uprising. The commission proposes these principles as the foundation for the constitution and state governance.

Regarding the exclusion of the three principles, the report suggests removing secularism, socialism, and nationalism as guiding principles, along with related Articles 8, 9, 10, and 12 of the constitution.

Summarizing the report, the head of the Constitution Reform Commission, Professor Ali Riaz, mentioned that a referendum has been recommended for constitutional amendments. The commission also proposed the introduction of a bicameral parliament.

In addition to the Constitution Reform Commission, three other commissions—the Electoral System Reform Commission, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and the Police Reform Commission—submitted their reform proposals to the Chief Advisor.

The interim government will now discuss these reform recommendations with political parties. The reforms that garner consensus through these discussions will be implemented. The interim government's advisory council announced at a press conference on Wednesday (January 15) that discussions with political parties will take place in February.

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