United News of Bangladesh

BNP senior leader Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on Saturday questioned who gave political parties the authority to decide on holding a referendum over introducing a proportional representation (PR) system in Bangladesh. “Why should we go for a referendum on PR? First of all who has given us that responsibility? The people didn’t give us this responsibility,” he said while addressing a seminar. The seminar, titled ‘Election 2026: A Critical Look at Proportional Representation’, was arranged by Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Cosmos Group, at the Cosmos Centre in the capital’s Moghbazar area. United News of Bangladesh (UNB) was the media partner of the event. UNB Editor-in-Chief Enayetullah Khan presided over the session. Khosru, a BNP Standing Committee member, also said the country’s people not political parties, will on PR system through elections. The BNP leader said every party has many issues where there is no consensus. “So, if you go for a referendum on each of them, you’ll end up doing referendums for the next two years.” He said the current interim government in Bangladesh has been formed based on the constitution and it is also being run under the same constitutional framework. “So, we want to restore democratic order and bring about any changes later, we must first hold an election under the current constitution and return to a democratic system,” the BNP leader observed. Once a democratic system is restored in the country, Khosru said, discussions can take place inside and outside parliament on reform issues like the PR system. “You can’t have a meaningful public debate when you don’t have a democratic government in place,” he argued. The BNP leader also said those who want PR should first earn people’s mandate.” No one has given 30 political parties the authority to decide the country’s future. It’s the people who will decide through elections.” Moyeen Khan rejects proportional representation system He also said it is unrealistic to expect all political parties to agree on every issue. “We’re not forming a one-party Baksal system. Differences in ideas and policies will always exist, and that’s the beauty of democracy. Each party should go to the people with its own vision.”

Strongly opposing the introduction of a proportional representation (PR) system, BNP senior leader Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan on Saturday said it would only strengthen political parties while weakening the link between people and their elected representatives, ultimately causing suffering for the public. “PR basically weakens the position of an individual representative and strengthens the party instead,” he said while speaking at a seminar. The seminar, titled ‘Election 2026: A Critical Look at Proportional Representation’, was arranged by Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Cosmos Group, at the Cosmos Centre in the capital’s Moghbazar area. United News of Bangladesh (UNB) was the media partner of the event. Under the PR system, Dr Moyeen, a BNP Standing Committee member, said people would vote for a party, not an individual, and the party would then decide who becomes a member of parliament. “This goes against our fundamental democratic spirit, where people elect their own representatives who are directly accountable to them.” He warned that making parties stronger while weakening individuals would create a “self-contradictory system,” noting that in Bangladesh, people have always wanted to prevent political parties from becoming too powerful. “Whenever political parties became too strong in the last 54 years, it ultimately brought suffering for the people,” the BNP leader said. Dr Moyeen Khan also observed that Bangladeshis are not yet mentally or intellectually prepared for such a complicated electoral process. “People here want a simple system where they can clearly understand who represents them and who they are voting for.”