BNP leader Tarique Rahman has taken oath as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh after winning the Parliamentary election following last year's July unrest and 18 months of caretaker government rule. While the election brought new hopes and expectations, before even the new government could establish its grip on the office, a new set of complications has surfaced.
Alongside the parliamentary election, a constitutional referendum was also held. This time, the results of the constitutional referendum have become the centre of debate.
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On Tuesday (February 17), a writ petition was filed in the Bangladesh High Court challenging the validity of this referendum and demanding cancellation of the referendum results. This development has cast uncertainty over the post-election political landscape.
Referendum results and legal challenge
In the February 12 referendum, 'Yes' won by a huge margin. Among those who voted, 60.26 per cent expressed their opinion in favour of constitutional reform. However, challenging the validity of this referendum, Supreme Court lawyer A.B.M. Ataul Majid Touhid filed a writ petition against it on Tuesday.
In response, senior Supreme Court lawyer Shishir Monir has stated that they will strongly contest this writ in court.
Dispute over ‘Constitutional Reform Council’
Meanwhile, even before this writ petition was filed, complications arose over the implementation of the July Charter. After taking the oath to protect the constitution as MPs, BNP parliamentarians refused to take a second oath for the 'Constitutional Reform Council'. According to them, this is completely contrary to the first oath of protecting the Constitution.
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Jamaat-e-Islami has criticised BNP’s move as an 'attempt to create complications'. They have clearly stated that if BNP does not take the second oath, they will not take any oath either.
All in all, the ongoing legal proceedings and differing positions of political parties over constitutional amendment are feared to push the country toward renewed uncertainty in the coming days.
