The second phase of meetings between the National Consensus Commission and political parties begins today, Tuesday, June 17, at 11:00 AM. The meeting will take place at the Doel Hall of the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka. The National Consensus Commission announced this information in a press release on Monday.

This meeting will focus on the unresolved discussions from the first phase and on building consensus on important issues. Key topics for discussion will include: achieving consensus on disputed matters such as Article 70 of the Constitution, the nomination of Standing Committee chairpersons, a bicameral parliament including women`s representation, and the appointment process of the Chief Justice. The meetings with political parties will continue sequentially on June 17, 18, and 19.

Bangladesh Television-News (BTV-News) will broadcast the discussion live.

While political parties reached consensus on many issues during the first phase of discussions, some proposals for fundamental reforms still lack agreement. To achieve consensus on these proposals, Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus inaugurated the second phase of discussions on June 2.

The formal proceedings of the second phase began the following day with topic-specific discussions. After discussing three issues (Article 70 of the Constitution, nomination of Standing Committee chairpersons, and women`s representation), the session was adjourned. That adjourned meeting is now resuming.

It is worth noting that after the fall of the Awami League government on August 5 due to mass protests, the interim government formed six reform commissions in October 2024. These commissions submitted their reports containing recommendations to the government in February 2025.

Subsequently, on February 12 of this year, a National Consensus Commission was formed, comprising the heads of the commissions for reforming the Constitution, Election Commission, Judiciary, Anti-Corruption Commission, Police, and Public Administration.