The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has expressed reservations about 73 of the 691 reform proposals put forward by five reform commissions under the Consensus Commission.

However, the party has agreed to over 500 of the proposals and recommended that the Chief Justice be appointed not based on seniority alone, but from a panel of the three most senior judges. BNP leaders have also decided to finalize their stance regarding the President’s decision-making process without prior consultation with Prime Minister after further internal discussion.

Additionally, the party has expressed its opposition to involving the National Constitutional Council (NCC) in declaring a state of emergency.

These positions were shared by BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed on Tuesday, following the third day of their second round of meetings with Consensus Commission.

Previously, BNP had engaged with the commission for the third consecutive day to review reform proposals from five commissions. After the meeting, Salahuddin Ahmed told reporters that BNP does not want judiciary to be incorporated into the definition of the state. Instead of a single senior-most judge, they propose appointing Chief Justice from a panel of three most senior judges based on merit and qualifications.

He stated that BNP supports the inclusion of a provision that allows for the impeachment of the President through a two-thirds vote in both houses of Parliament. The party also advocates reducing the President`s dependency on the Prime Minister.

On the matter of imposing a state of emergency, BNP clearly opposed the involvement of the NCC. The party also proposed a bicameral parliamentary system, suggesting that the upper house be called the Senate and the lower house be called the Parliament.

Providing a detailed breakdown of BNP’s stance on the reform proposals, Salahuddin Ahmed said that out of 208 proposals from the Public Administration Reform Commission, BNP agreed with 187, partially agreed with five, disagreed with 11, and provided feedback on five.

Regarding the Constitutional Reform Commission`s 131 proposals, the party agreed with 19, while it held differing opinions or comments on most of the others.

From the Election System Reform Commission’s 243 proposals, BNP agreed with 141, agreed with comments on 64, partially agreed on 14, and disagreed with 24.

BNP received 20 proposals from the Anti-Corruption Commission Reform Commission, of which it agreed with 11, disagreed with eight, and provided either a recommendation or objection on one.

On the Judicial Reform Commission, which presented 89 proposals across 28 chapters, BNP agreed with 62, agreed with comments on nine, and expressed disagreement with 18.

Reiterating BNP’s commitment to the full independence of the judiciary, Salahuddin Ahmed said the party wants the establishment of a Supreme Court Secretariat and a National Judicial Court within the Supreme Judicial Council. He added that the party also intends to ensure accountability by addressing corruption within the judiciary.

The commission has proposed raising the retirement age of judges to 70. On this matter, Salahuddin said the party believes further review is necessary before reaching a final decision.