Citizens call for constitution reform commission

Eminent citizens on Tuesday called for a commission to reform the constitution and to activate the constitutional institutions for the sake of democracy in the country.
They made the demand at a roundtable on ‘control and balance of power for democracy’ arranged by ‘Udbigna Nagarik Samaj’ at BRAC Centre in the city.
Former chief election commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda, also the platform’s convener, alleged that none of the past four governments gad any attention to the democratic institutions.
He said that those governments emphasised on election to go to power by any means.
Former adviser to caretaker government M Hafizuddin Ahmed questioned the rationale of the constitutional power given to the president to appoint the chief justice saying that the president had to depend on the prime
minister’s will for the appointment.
South Asian Legal Institute executive director Manzoor Hasan proposed to increase the power of the president for balance and control of power.
Political scientist Rounaq Jahan, referring to post 1991 experience, said that the constitutional institutions were not functioning or applying their powers.
She said that though the parliament was the place for control and balance of power, the opposition was not keeping their role there properly.
She suggested that steps should be taken to activate the institutions that were not effective and then establishment of new institutions might be initiated.
The office of the president now seems to be useless as his power to appoint the prime minister and the chief justice was an almost an automatic process, said senior jurist Shahdeen Malik.
It is natural that a chief justice would be appointed on the basis of seniority and the majority party in the parliament would elect the prime minister, he explained.
Local government expert Tofayel Ahmed said that it seemed that the power of a deputy commissioner was like a ‘king’ or an ‘envoy of a king’ as he or she, having 602 kinds of power, was the president of 200 committees in his district.
Sushashoner Jonno Nagarik general secretary Badiul Alam Majumder said that many of the politicians thought that
none but the politicians had the right to speak on politics.
He suggested the constitution should be reformed and the constitutional institutions should be activated to ensure the balance of power.
Campaign for Popular Education executive director Rasheda K Chowdhury called for inclusion of young generation in democratic movements.

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