Jamaat Wants Referendum in November

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami on Monday called on the Election Commission to prepare for holding the proposed referendum on the July National Charter 2025 on a separate day in November, ahead of the upcoming 13th parliamentary election.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with the commission at Nirbachan Bhaban, Jamaat’s Nayeb-e-Ameer Dr Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher said: “We’ve conveyed that the referendum and the national election should be held on different days. The Commission should mentally prepare to conduct them separately.”

A five-member Jamaat delegation, led by Dr Taher, met with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, four election commissioners, and the EC Senior Secretary during a two-and-a-half-hour meeting.

Dr Taher argued that holding both the referendum and the national election on the same day would diminish the significance of the July National Charter reforms.

“We’ve formally requested that the referendum be scheduled for November,” he added.