Akhtar urges BNP to agree on non-partisan constitutional appointments

National Citizen Party (NCP) Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain has urged the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to reach a consensus with other political parties on forming non-partisan appointment committees for constitutional institutions, similar to the Election Commission.

He made the appeal during a brief recess shortly after the 20th day of the second phase of the National Consensus Commission meeting began at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka on Monday.

“For the past 50 years, we have seen that constitutional bodies in Bangladesh have not functioned properly due to partisan appointments,” Akhtar said. “If non-partisan appointments had been made to the Election Commission in the past, one-sided elections — such as those in 2014, 2018, and 2024 — would not have taken place.”

He added, “If the BNP understands this — and we believe they do, since they have been the most victimized and kept out of power for a long time — then why don’t they recognize the importance of non-partisan appointments in other institutions? That remains our question.”

Raising further concerns, the NCP Member Secretary questioned, “The BNP has suffered from one-sided elections and therefore agreed to a non-partisan Election Commission. But are they now refusing similar measures for other bodies like the Public Service Commission, the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, and the judiciary simply because they haven’t been victims in those areas? Is this the logic being presented to us?”

Welcoming the BNP’s stance on the Election Commission, he said, “They have shifted their political position, and we appreciate this change. Agreeing to non-partisan appointment committees does not mean altering party ideology. Therefore, we urge BNP leaders to support non-partisan committees for other constitutional bodies as well.”