With the aim of strengthening ideology-based dialogue and democratic practices among young politicians, the Centre for Governance Studies (CGS), in collaboration with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), hosted a public dialogue bringing together political leaders.

CGS President Zillur Rahman moderated the event, held at a city hotel on Saturday.

Advisor to the Chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Zahir Uddin Swapan, Chairman of Amar Bangladesh Party (AB Party) Mujibur Rahman Manju, Resident Representative of FES Bangladesh Felix Gradés, President of Gono Adhikar Parishad Nurul Haque Nur, President of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) Kazi Sajjad Zahir Chandan, Senior Joint Member Secretary of the National Citizen Party (NCP) Tasnim Jara, and Executive Director of the Centre for Governance Studies Parvez Karim Abbasi took part as discussants.

The public dialogue was also attended by representatives from various student organisations across the country.

Zillur Rahman expressed hope that the young participants would use the knowledge and experience gained through the ‘Politics Lab’ to help build a healthy political culture in the future.

He noted that although Bangladesh follows the Commonwealth parliamentary system, there is no architectural structure in the world comparable to the country’s National Parliament Building.

Felix Gradés said FES has a long history of sharing political knowledge. “Across the world, we are witnessing movements led by Generation Z — from Sri Lanka to Madagascar — following the overthrow of governments.

“This reflects deep-rooted issues that must be addressed through dialogue with political forces and by advancing democratically. Elections alone cannot uphold democracy. Strengthening civil society, empowering youth, and supporting research can pave the way towards good governance. Hopefully, the young politicians have learned from the Politics Lab and will contribute positively to society,” he added.

Zahir Uddin Swapan said the distinction between reform, revolution and anarchy is still unclear to many. “Reform means repair — but how far should it go? And where lies the line between revolution and anarchy? It is understandable when young politicians are confused about these concepts, but when experienced leaders consciously ignore this ambiguity, it becomes a matter of serious concern.”

He added that even if the work of the National Consensus Commission is completed quickly, the process of reaching consensus does not end there.

Parvez Karim Abbasi said the Centre for Governance Studies has been working to ensure good governance and a healthy political environment.

“With that goal in mind, we have tried to create opportunities for young politicians to interact with field experts. The main demand of the 2024 mass uprising was the establishment of good governance,” he said.

He added that although women make up 51 percent of the country’s population, their rights have not been adequately protected after the uprising. “Women are a major driving force of our economy and played an instrumental role during the movement,” he said.

“The root cause of many of our problems lies in our inability to practise tolerance. The objective of the ‘Politics Lab’ is to foster political education, cultivate tolerance and encourage pluralism among young politicians, regardless of their political affiliations or ideologies,” he added.

Mujibur Rahman Manju said that during his student days, students with different ideologies could neither sit together nor look each other in the eye. “The fact that young politicians can now sit together and talk is itself a major step forward,” he said.

Nurul Haque Nur said many students from marginalised areas have entered universities, and their families look to them with great hope. “It was the desire of these young people for fair employment that led to the 2018 quota reform movement,” he said.

He added that regardless of which political party comes to power, all tend to misuse the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for political purposes — a major obstacle to the country’s democratic progress.

Kazi Sajjad Zahir Chandan said that the sooner a free and fair election is held, the sooner the referendum debate and other political crises will be resolved. He noted that his party did not see the spirit and history of the Liberation War reflected in the July Charter. “For this reason, we did not sign the Charter — we are not willing to compromise on the ideals of the Liberation War,” he said.

He further said that a total of 11 reform commissions have been formed so far, of which five have no effective authority.

Tasnim Jara said the nation now stands at a point in history where the July uprising forced Sheikh Hasina to leave the country through the collective action of the youth.

“However, the goal of that uprising was not merely to remove one leader but to reform the collapsed state institutions and the corrupt system,” she added.