Photo : Collected

DHAKA, Aug 30, 2025 (BSS) - Speakers, at an event here, called on the interim government to implement reforms agreed upon by all political parties within the next two months.

They said this at a roundtable discussion titled "State Reforms and July Charter: Current Perspective", organized by Centre for Inclusive Policy and Governance (CIPG) at the Mawlana Mohammad Akram Khan Hall of the National Press Club today. 

CIPG Chairman and former Dhaka University professor Dr Md Mozammel Haque chaired the event, while former secretary Dr Md Shariful Alam conducted it. 

In the discussion, political experts and academics stressed the urgent need to implement the agreed reform proposals within the next two months to protect the democratic process and prevent the return of authoritarianism in the country. 

Speaking as the keynote speaker, Local Government Reform Commission Chairman Professor Dr Tofail Ahmed stressed that reforms must not be delayed. 

"The reform proposals on which political parties have already reached consensus must be implemented within the next two months. Issues of disagreement should remain under continuous dialogue," he said, emphasizing the need to ensure voting rights for expatriates through passport-based voter lists and postal ballots.

"If we spare the opportunities created by the July uprising, authoritarianism will return. Reform does not mean only holding elections; it requires restructuring the state for inclusivity, accountability, and transparency," he added.

Speaking, Dr. Md. Nazrul Islam of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology and Professor Dr. A.K.M. Warisul Karim of North South University emphasized need for Partial Proportional Representation (PPR) system in elections, noting that it would ensure every vote count, prevent one-party domination, and bring greater balance to governance in the country.

Panelists also called for visible justice, administrative reform, diaspora voting rights, and early local government elections. They highlighted that failure to reform institutions left by past regimes would jeopardize democratic aspirations and the July Charter's objectives. 

The discussion concluded with a call for political unity, especially among centrist and Islamist parties, to sustain the momentum of the July movement and to ensure long-term democratic reforms. 

Retired army officers, secretaries, academicians, journalists and political experts, among others, took part in the roundtable discussion.