Consensus commission: Parties critisise ‘yes-no’ format in spreadsheet

The BNP and several left-leaning parties have expressed concerns over the spreadsheet format of the recommendations sent by the National Consensus Commission (NCC) to the political parties.

The spreadsheet offered options such as "Yes", "No", "Agree", and "Disagree".

They believe this approach could lead to misunderstandings, arguing that a simple binary choice is insufficient to fully convey their views on the reform proposals that the NCC has collated from various reform commissions.

Most proposals, they said, require thorough explanations, reasoning, and counterarguments, stressing the need for meaningful dialogue on the proposals.

Apart from the BNP, the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Biplobi Workers Party, and Socialist Party of Bangladesh have shared similar views on the spreadsheets.

On March 6, the consensus commission sent a letter to the BNP and 37 other parties, seeking their feedback on a spreadsheet containing 166 key reform proposals related to the constitution, electoral system, public administration, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and the judiciary. The parties were asked to submit their feedback by March 13. So far, 21 parties, including the BNP, have submitted their responses.

At a press conference at the BNP chairperson's Gulshan office on March 22, the party's Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir raised concerns over the NCC spreadsheet.

"Instead of presenting the proposals directly, they are framed as leading questions. For example, the spreadsheet asks, 'Do you support implementing the proposals through a constituent assembly? Answer yes or no.' But the question of whether or not we agree on the concept of a constituent assembly should come first."

However, he also stated that his party is cooperating with the consensus commission.

"We're responding to each spreadsheet entry — where a 'yes' is needed, we are giving a 'yes' and marking it accordingly. Where a separate statement is necessary, we're providing our own remarks. This is how we are cooperating fully."

Criticising the spreadsheet, CPB General Secretary Ruhin Hossain Prince said most questions were unclear, incomplete, and one-sided, requiring further explanations.

"Simply marking responses without discussions would not be effective, and it would create misunderstandings."

According to him, it would have been better if the commission had arranged dialogues over the proposals before preparing the spreadsheets.

Biplobi Workers Party General Secretary Saiful Haque said the approach adopted by the NCC to gather feedback was not appropriate.

He believes it resembles an NGO-style approach, where the commission is essentially guiding responses toward the answers it wants in order to benefit a certain party.

"I don't think this is the right approach to address the current political crisis. The political parties were unable to provide their actual opinions. With an MCQ pattern, [providing] meaningful input is not possible."

Bazlur Rashid Firoz, general secretary of the Socialist Party of Bangladesh, made similar criticisms.

"Think about the constitution — it's an important issue as it concerns the fate of the people of this country. We don't think it's possible to provide meaningful feedback just by choosing 'Agree' or 'Disagree.' Though there is an option for comments, I still believe rigorous explanations, logic, and counterarguments are necessary."

However, the National Citizen Party (NCP), Gono Sanghati Andolan, and Rastro Sangskar Andolan believe the commission adopted this approach as an initial step.

"As we don't have a better approach in front of us, I don't think it's that bad. If someone is unwilling to provide their feedback on reforms and simply rejects the method outright, that wouldn't be wise," said NCP Joint Convenor Sarwar Tushar.

He added that there are also options for comments and that further discussions will take place, emphasising that this is not a permanent framework.

Chief Coordinators of Gono Sanghati Andolan and Rastro Sangskar Andolan, Zonayed Saki and Hasnat Quaiyum, echoed similar views.