Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami on Sunday said no individual should serve as Prime Minister for more than 10 years in their lifetime.
The party came up with the view during a media briefing at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, following the National Consensus Commission’s talks under its second-round dialogue between political parties and the commission.
Talking to reporters, Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher said, “We had proposed that no person should be allowed to hold the office of Prime Minister for more than 10 years in their lifetime. This proposal was made in the context of discussions around term limits and tenure.”
Calling for a consensus on the issue, he said, “There is no need to debate terms and durations further. Except for three parties, everyone else agreed on this point.”
“In other words,” he said, “a person can serve as Prime Minister a maximum of 10 years in total, regardless of the number of terms. I believe this reflects the aspiration of the nation. This should be the collective decision based on national consensus.”
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He said, “There are many precedents of such models in other countries. We believe this is essential for Bangladesh as well. We are close to reaching a consensus on this matter. Two more points will be discussed later this afternoon.”
Key figures like Ali Riaz; Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, Head of the Public Administration Reform Commission; Safar Raj Hossain, Head of the Police Reform Commission; Badiul Alam Majumdar, Head of the Electoral Reform Commission; Justice Emdadul Haque, Head of the Judicial Reform Commission; and Iftekharuzzaman, Head of the Anti-Corruption Commission Reform Panel.
Earlier, on June 17, Jamaat-e-Islami had not taken part in the previous inconclusive second round of talks. Following communication from the interim government, the party, however, joined the discussion the next day.
Meanwhile, political parties have yet to find common ground on several issues in the National Consensus Commission’s ongoing dialogue.
These include the distribution of seats in the proposed Upper House of Parliament and the formation of a National Constitutional Council (NCC), which has been proposed to bring balance to the powers of the Prime Minister.
No consensus has been reached either on the method of electing the President or the election procedure for reserved seats for women. Disagreements among parties have also surfaced over the very definition of ‘consensus,’ prompting the Commission to consider issuing a clarification.