Dhaka //

Six commissions on the constitution, electoral system, police, judiciary, anti-corruption and public administration reform will start working by October. The government expects them to submit the report by December 31 after completing the work. Then in the second phase, the interim government led by the Chief Adviser will start discussions on reforms with the political parties.

Thursday (September 19) in the afternoon, the chief adviser of the interim government. These decisions were taken in a meeting of six reform commission heads with Muhammad Yunus. The meeting was held at the chief adviser’s office in Tejgaon of the capital. In the meeting, it was also decided that the government will hold a consultative exchange meeting on reforms. People from all walks of life will be represented in these meetings.

The interim government’s legal advisor Professor Asif Nazrul presented these facts at a press conference organized at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital in the evening. Electoral Reform Commission Chief Badiul Alam Mazumdar and Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor Mahfuz Alam also spoke.

Before this, the chief adviser to the nation on September 11. Muhammad Yunus initially announced the decision to form six commissions. Among them, Badiul Alam Majumdar will be in the Electoral Reform Commission, Safar Raj Hossain in the Police Administration Reform Commission, former Justice Shah Abu Naeem Mominur Rahman in the Judiciary Reform Commission, Iftekharuzzaman in the Anti-Corruption Reform Commission, Abdul Mueed Chowdhury as the head of the Public Administration Reform Commission. On this day, the name of Shahdeen Malik was announced as the head of the Constitution Reform Commission. Later, on Wednesday, instead of Shahdeen Malik, Professor Ali Riaz was given the responsibility of the head of the Constitution Reform Commission.

The Chief Adviser held a meeting with the heads of the Reforms Commission for the first time on Thursday. Prof. Ali Riaz was involved online in this meeting. The rest were physically present. On the other hand, Education Adviser Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud, Law Adviser Asif Nazrul, Adviser Ali Imam Mazumder, Industry Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan and Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Special Assistant to Chief Adviser Mahfuz Alam were present. The scope of work of the Reform Commission was discussed in the meeting.

There will be more reform commissions

Legal adviser Asif Nazrul told reporters that after receiving the report of the reform commission, it will be made available online. So that everyone will have the opportunity to reflect their opinion. The expectations of the student uprising were not limited to elections, it was a question of state reform and the dream of establishing a real democracy. Apart from this, the kind of reforms needed to prevent the return of fascist rule in Bangladesh was reflected by the student uprising. Six reform commissions have been made initially for that purpose.

At this stage, the special assistant of the chief adviser, Mahfuz Alam, said that the people of Bangladesh had been crushed by the fascist regime for a long time. A government formed by popular uprising has an important responsibility before the election process. That is, the institutions of Bangladesh which have been destroyed in the last 15 years and 53 years of experience have shown that they are not able to work in the interest of the people, they have been dismantled. Initially six reform commissions have been formed. Then there is the thought of more reform commission among them. The commissions will be independent.

At that time, Badiul Alam Majumder, head of the Electoral System Reform Commission, said, “We were under an authoritarian government. We have been disenfranchised in many ways. The past should not repeat itself. For this, changes should be made in various matters, reforms should be made.
The electoral roll will be updated by reconstituting the EC

In response to the question of how long the reforms will take, Legal Adviser Asif Nazrul said that the other reform commissions will not wait for the results of this reform commission (already six commissions). There will be some reforms that can be done immediately, some reforms will be medium term, some long term. And there will be some reform proposals for the winning government in the next elections.

The legal adviser said that after the chief adviser returns from attending the UN session, the reorganization of the Election Commission (EC) will be considered. Then at one stage the voter list will be updated. He said, ‘Through our activities, you will understand that we will not confine ourselves only to the idea of ​​reform. I will continue to do the real work with him for healthy and free elections, for reforming the state, to abolish the fascist regime so that it does not return.
The government will want to return Sheikh Hasina

In response to a question about the return of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted in the face of the student uprising and went to India, the legal adviser said that India has a prisoner extradition agreement with Bangladesh. According to this agreement, if there is a convicted Bangladeshi in India, Bangladesh can seek his extradition, whether he is the former prime minister or whoever. Some steps have already been taken to prosecute the massacres and crimes against humanity committed during the student revolution, and some visible progress has also been made. The trial will begin soon. Extradition must be sought after the trial begins.

Not a discussion with those who committed genocide

In response to a question on how to reform the constitution, the legal adviser said, the commission will review all possibilities. The government will not decide what will happen, it will be decided by the people of the country. This commission has been formed to work on behalf of the people. The views of all sections of society will be represented as far as possible. But there will be no discussion with those who are mass murderers, those who have committed crimes against humanity, those who are fleeing for fear of justice. Apart from them, the opinions of all the representative sections of the society, political parties, social, professional, student organizations and those who were in the mass uprising will be reflected as much as possible. The Commission will do this.

The legal adviser said that consultation meetings will be held to make everyone a companion in facing the challenges of implementing the reforms. In this case the report of previous reforms done at different times will also be taken into consideration.