Major political parties have agreed in principle to the formation of a constitutionally mandated specialised committee to oversee the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies after each national census, Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer Dr Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher said on Wednesday.
He made the remarks to journalists at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, after the conclusion of the first phase of the Consensus Commission’s dialogue with various political parties.
“Today’s discussion focused on the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies. Article 119 of our Constitution addresses this issue. In the past, the Election Commission carried out this task independently. Now, in the interest of transparency, there is a proposal to introduce a change — that is, the formation of a specialised committee,” Dr Taher said.
He said this committee will assist and advise the Election Commission (EC) on the delimitation process. The proposal has two parts. Firstly, for the upcoming national election, our party as well as the Commission proposed forming a technical expert committee under the EC, Dr Taher added.
“As there is limited time before the next election, there is no opportunity to introduce a different approach now. Therefore, for the 13th parliamentary election, the EC will form an expert committee, and the delimitation of constituencies will be carried out based on its recommendations,” he added.
Dr Taher underscored the importance of this initiative, saying, “Accurate and transparent delimitation of parliamentary constituencies is extremely important, as it can significantly influence election outcomes.”
He went on to say, “Delimitation requires the work of numerous experts. This includes field surveys, geographic coordination, and proportional representation of voters, a range of factors that must be analysed. Taking all these into account, an expert committee will be formed.”
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Dr Taher said the parties also agreed on a more permanent mechanism: “There was a consensus on incorporating the provision for such an expert committee in the Constitution. After every census, this committee will be activated to carry out the delimitation process. It will function as a constitutional body.”
He added that the committee will be independent and formed through expert nominations. “Initially, the Commission proposed naming the body with ‘Commission’ at the end. Some parties objected to that. Ultimately, everyone agreed to use ‘Committee’ instead.”
“Jamaat was in favour of retaining the term ‘Commission’. However, the BNP initially opposed making it a constitutional provision and instead proposed legislating it through an ordinary law. After extended discussions, the BNP shifted its stance in favour of a constitutional arrangement in the interest of consensus. We also made a compromise — we accepted the term ‘Committee’ instead of ‘Commission’. After the two major parties agreed, the remaining parties followed suit,” he said.
Recalling past practices, Dr Taher said, “Over the last 15 years, the boundaries of many constituencies have been altered to benefit certain individuals. A significant number of these changes were made during the Awami League’s tenure. In fact, many within the party themselves appealed against those alterations.”