Ruling party MPs urged to honour referendum verdict
FE REPORT | Thursday, 26 February 2026
Civic groups and reform advocates on Wednesday called on the ruling party MPs (members of parliament) to take oath as members of the Constitution Reform Council to show respect for the people's verdict in the national referendum.
They made the call at a civic dialogue titled "Implementation of the Referendum Verdict' held at the National Press Club, jointly organised by the Citizen Forum for Referendum & July Charter (CFRJC) and Voice for Reform.
Representatives of several civic platforms, July warriors and representatives of their organisations took part in the dialogue. The event was moderated by Fahim Mashroor, coordinator of Voice for Reform.
Badiul Alam Majumdar, founder secretary of SHUJAN (Citizens for Good Governance), said the people, the government, and political parties now stand "on the blood of thousands of martyrs from the July uprising".
Citizens, through their participation in the February 12 referendum, delivered a clear mandate for implementing the "July National Charter (Constitutional Amendment) Implementation Order, 2025" and specific constitutional reform proposals, he noted.
He pointed out that 68 per cent of the votes cast were in favour of the "Yes" vote.
"The people's verdict is supreme and the source of all constitutional authority. Unfortunately, a large number of elected MPs have not yet taken oath as members of the Constitutional Reform Council," he said, describing it as disrespect for the public mandate.
Umama Fatema, former spokesperson of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, warned that delays in implementing the referendum verdict risk triggering a political and constitutional crisis.
She stressed that achieving economic stability would be difficult without first securing political stability.
In his remarks, Fahim Mashroor emphasised that the July movement and its bloodshed were not intended to merely replace one government with another. Instead, the July Charter symbolises the people's aspiration for systemic reform.
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