The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has expressed support for increasing the number of reserved seats for women in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) from 50 to 100. However, the party maintains that these seats should continue to be filled through party nominations instead of direct elections, citing the current lack of readiness in the country’s political and social culture for such a transition.
The BNP’s position was outlined by its Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed during a press briefing held today, Tuesday, at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka. The briefing followed a closed-door meeting between the National Consensus Commission and representatives of several political parties at the academy’s Doel Hall. The meeting was chaired by Commission Vice-President Ali Riaz and marked the final session of the commission’s second round of discussions with political parties ahead of the Eid holidays.
Salahuddin Ahmed explained that the current proportional method for electing women to reserved seats has 50 allocated positions. He stated that BNP proposed increasing this number to 100, a suggestion echoed by most participating parties except for a few. However, no consensus was reached on the election procedure for the expanded seats. The discussion on this matter remains open for further deliberation.
On the issue of direct elections, Salahuddin Ahmed emphasized that the BNP does not believe the time is ripe for introducing such a system. “The models under consideration—such as rotational or direct voting systems—do not yet appear to be compatible with Bangladesh’s existing political or parliamentary culture,” he said. He suggested that more experience through one or two additional parliamentary terms may prepare the ground for such reforms in the future.
Ahmed also highlighted that Bangladeshi women, as a societal group, have not yet achieved the level of progress necessary for removing special provisions altogether. Until such advancement is realized, the reserved seats must remain in place to promote greater female participation in national decision-making.
In addition to the topic of women’s representation, the discussions also covered two main agenda items: parliamentary standing committees and the election process for reserved seats. Other scheduled topics were not addressed in today’s session.
During the briefing, Salahuddin Ahmed also noted that there had been a proposal to appoint opposition members as chairs of parliamentary standing committees. While all-party consensus had already been reached on granting some committees to the opposition during the first round of discussions, the BNP pushed for a broader inclusion of opposition members in leadership roles across key committees. The aim is to ensure greater accountability and balance within the parliamentary system.
He further remarked that a tentative agreement appeared to have emerged regarding the inclusion of opposition representatives as chairs of important ministries’ standing committees. However, the exact number and allocation of such committees would need to be determined later through parliamentary discussion, particularly considering the proportion of seats held by the opposition. Setting a fixed percentage now, when the opposition’s numerical presence is relatively small, could raise practical concerns.
Earlier in the day, the National Consensus Commission opened its second round of talks with 30 political parties, focusing on constitutional Article 70, reforms in parliamentary standing committees, and reserved seats for women. Delegates from BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, LDP, NCP, and two political alliances participated in the session.