Bangladesh News

HM Ershad-led Jatiyo Party (JP) is set to bring significant changes to its constitution including curbing of the current absolute authority of the party chairman.

The fourth largest party of the country is also trying to bring a balance between the power of the chairman and the power of its presidium, the highest policymaking forum, by increasing the latter’s power.

JP reform affairs sub-committee in its final draft of a reform proposal talked about bringing those changes to the party constitution.

The draft reform proposal will be placed in the presidium, which will later be adopted by a special national council for party reforms.

The issue of reforms within political parties has been being discussed since the declaration of the state of emergency on January 11 of last year.

According to the present constitution of JP the chairman has absolute power to form, suspend or abolish committees at all levels.

Currently the chairman also has absolute power to appoint anyone to any post or suspend anyone from any post, with the power to replace any official of the party with any person of his choice.

But according to the new draft constitution, the chairman will have to discuss with the presidium and will have to take its advice to exercise those authority.

According to the draft party reform proposal, no party member will be allowed to hold the chairmanship of the organisation for more than two terms.

Besides, the chairman and the secretary general will not be allowed to hold any government post including any post in the cabinet, if the draft constitution is adopted.

According to the draft constitution, the presidium will be the highest executive authority for settling any interpretation dispute regarding any obscure or unexplained matter in the party constitution.

In the current party constitution, the chairman was given absolute power of interpreting the constitution.

The sub-committee also proposed to form new organisational units based on the country’s parliamentary constituencies, the committees of which will elect an executive committee through a party council.

The sub-committee also advocated bringing transparency to the party fund.

“We want to ensure general members’ participation in decision making process,” GM Quader, convener of the sub-committee told The Daily Star.

“All political parties are now operating without any specific political ideology as all the power remains in the hands of only three to four people, who only serve their own interests,” GM Quader commented while explaining the reasons for curbing absolute power of the party chairman in the new draft constitution.

“Through amending the constitution we want to protect the interest of general members as well as of the people,” GM Quader, who is also a presidium member of the party, said.

About bringing transparency to the party fund and sources of its earnings, JP presidium member Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu told The Daily Star, “All transactions of the party will be disclosed on the website of the party,” adding that the initiative will ensure accountability and transparency.

About curtailing absolute power of the party chairman, he said, “We want to bring a balance of power in the party and modify the power of the chairman.”

The issue of party reform got momentum in last June after now expelled secretary general of unified BNP, Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, had disclosed a set of party reform proposals including one proposing removal of Khaleda Zia from the post of the chairperson.

AL presidium members Abdur Razzak, Tofail Ahmed, and Suranjit Sengupta also disclosed separate reform proposals which included a proposal for curtailing absolute power of their party chief.

According to the Election Commission’s electoral roadmap, political parties will get three months from March to May to bring necessary amendments to their constitutions and to form new committees by holding party councils to get registered as parliamentary parties by June with the commission.