The National Citizen Party (NCP) has demanded that any election in Bangladesh must first be a Constituent Assembly election to draft a new constitution, rejecting the existing one as a “textbook of fascism.”
At a discussion titled “Constituent Assembly Election to Implement the July Charter” held at the party’s temporary office in Banglamotor on Saturday evening, NCP chief coordinator Nasir Uddin Patwari declared, “If there is any election in this country, it must first be a Constituent Assembly election. We are organizing people to write a new constitution for the future of Bangladesh.”
He criticized the interim government led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, alleging that it had ignored the demands of the July Uprising. “The declaration has gone to London. Our Nobel Laureate Yunus sir does not see the people of Bangladesh, he has to go to London. He bowed there and returned with an order through revelation, announcing elections in February. But that is under the existing constitution. Your bowing was wrong — you must bow to the people of Bangladesh,” Patwari said.
Earlier, Patwari had stated that if elections were held in February without reforms, the sacrifices of those killed and injured on August 5 would be dishonored. “If reforms are not completed, then the government must return the lives of the martyrs, the limbs of the wounded, and the sons of the mothers who lost their children,” he added.
Patwari warned Dr. Yunus that his own legitimacy would be questioned if he failed to initiate constitutional reforms. “You are in office under Article 106. If you cannot deliver a new constitution, your legitimacy will also vanish.” He accused the interim government of “betrayal and dishonesty” for not ensuring the implementation of the July Charter.
Highlighting the failures of the current constitutional order, Patwari argued that no government under it had ever protected democratic space. “Every ruling party has used this constitution to oppress people. When movements rose, they fled — some to Delhi, some to London, some to the USA. This is not new; it is history,” he said.
NCP’s southern region chief organizer Hasanat Abdullah echoed the demand, saying, “If anyone thinks we can go to another election without changing the system, that is impossible. The election schedule is not our concern — November, December, or January, it doesn’t matter. But it must be a Constituent Assembly election.”
He reiterated that NCP would not be bought or compromised. “You cannot buy us with seats. We did not come to be sold. Even character assassination cannot buy us. The old constitution is a book of fascism, it no longer functions,” Hasanat declared.
Other NCP leaders including member secretary Akhter Hossain, Zahurul Islam, Arif Sohel, and Faridul Haque also addressed the event.
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