He explained that the current system reserves 50 seats for women based on proportional representation, and there are now two proposals under consideration: either doubling that number to 100 using the existing system, or introducing direct elections for the reserved seats.
As agreement was not reached on either, the commission has proposed an alternative approach, he said, adding that this new proposal involves amending Article 65 of the Constitution to ensure women’s representation differently.
He continued that any political party nominating candidates in more than 25 constituencies must ensure that at least one-third of its candidates are women.
Professor Riaz mentioned that other suggestions have also emerged during the ongoing talks, prompting the commission to continue discussions for reconsideration.
Commission members justice Md Emdadul Haque, Iftekharuzzaman, Badiul Alam Majumdar, Safar Raj Hossain, and Md Ayub Miah, and chief adviser’s special assistant Monir Haider were present.
Representatives from 30 political parties joined today’s session, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, National Citizen Party (NCP), Gono Odhikar Parishad, Ganosamhati Andolon, Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Biplobi Workers Party, and Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party.
The commission will resume discussions with political parties tomorrow morning to build consensus on the unresolved issues.