Staff Correspondent:

Vice Chairman of the National Consensus Commission Prof Ali Riaz on Sunday said the reform issues on which political parties failed to reach a consensus will also be made public to ensure transparency.

“There is a consensus among political parties on some basic issues. We will share these. And we will also share the issues on which consensus could not be reached, for the sake of transparency and to help people in the future decision-making process in political initiatives,” he said while addressing a discussion.

The National Consensus Commission arranged the discussion with the Civil Society at Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) in the city.

Referring to the dialogues with political parties, Prof Ali Riaz said that there has been a consensus among the parties on some fundamental matters, while agreement on other key issues still remains elusive.

“Given the ideological differences among political parties, it is not realistic to expect agreement on everything,” he said.

He mentioned the Commission’s efforts to prepare a national charter and a comprehensive report that would reflect the range of opinions gathered through dialogues.

Prof Ali Riaz emphasized the importance of engaging civil society in the reform process, saying that it is also essential to reach an unity in the civil society alongside the political arena over the reform initiatives.

“Discussions with political parties alone are not sufficient for building national consensus. There needs to be a shared understanding within civil society as well. So,the active participation of civil society in reform processes is essential,” he said.

He said the Commission has held talks with 33 political parties in the last two months.

President of Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS) Maj Gen (Retd) ANM Muniruzzaman, Dhaka University’s Mass Communication and Journalism Professor Gitiara Nasreen and Dhaka University’s Sociology Professor Samina Lutfa, among others, spoke at the discussion.

Consensus commission members Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Safar Raj Hossain, Md Ayub Miah and Chief Adviser’s Special Assistant Monir Haider were present.

The Consensus Commission opened a series of talks with political parties on March 20 last to forge a national consensus on state reform initiatives undertaken by the interim government.

The Commission held talks with 33 parties and alliances including BNP, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and National Citizen Party (NCP) before concluding the first round of dialogues on May 19 last.

Formed on February 15, 2025, under the leadership of Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, the Commission was tasked with shaping a unified national stance on critical reforms.