The National Consensus Commission has sent a letter to political parties, seeking their opinions on key recommendations made by six reform commissions.

The parties have been requested to submit their feedback in a spreadsheet attached to the letter by March 13.

After receiving their responses, the commission will sit with each political party separately, Prof Ali Riaz, vice-chairman of the National Consensus Commission, told The Daily Star last night.

The letter signed by Prof Riaz contains a tabular format summary of the key recommendations of the six reform commissions, according to sources.

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The parties have been asked to provide feedback on two aspects for each recommendation.

The first aspect is whether they agree with the recommendation.

They have been given three options: "Agree", "Disagree", and "Partially Agree". Each party must select one of these options to express their stance.

The second aspect is their opinion on the timeline and method of implementation of each recommendation.

There are six options to choose from: implementation through an ordinance before election, implementation through a referendum before election, implementation through a referendum during the election, implementation through a constituent assembly, implementation through constitutional reform after election, or implementation through both a constituent assembly and a legislature. Additionally, a comment section has been provided next to each recommendation for the parties to express their views.

Monir Haider, special assistant (consensus) to the chief adviser, is coordinating this initiative.

Among the recommendations for which political parties' opinions have been sought are appointment of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners based on political consensus and transparency, enacting a law to clarify the responsibilities, powers, and accountability of the Election Commission, and establishing a permanent national constitutional council for appointing officials in all constitutional bodies, including the Election Commission.

Other proposals include putting a two-term limit on prime ministers, making a two-time elected prime minister ineligible for the presidency, and prohibiting the same person from simultaneously holding the positions of party chief, prime minister, and leader of parliament. The creation of an upper house in parliament with 100 seats allocated proportionally, and offering the deputy speaker position to the opposition party have also been proposed.

Additionally, it has been suggested that a lower house of parliament be formed with 400 members, including 100 reserved seats for women who will be elected directly.

There is also a proposal to elect a nonpartisan, honest, competent, and reputable individual as president through a larger electoral college consisting of members of both houses of parliament and all local government representatives.

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Other recommendations include holding local government polls before national elections, making the Election Commission accountable, and amending the International Crimes Tribunal Act and the Representation of the People Order to prevent individuals accused of crimes against humanity from contesting parliamentary elections.

After the fall of the Awami League regime in August last year, the interim government led by Prof Muhammad Yunus formed six reform commissions in early October, covering key areas such as the constitution, electoral system, public administration, police, Anti-Corruption Commission, and the judiciary.

These six commissions published their final reports in February. Subsequently, the government formed the National Consensus Commission, headed by Prof Yunus and comprising the heads of the six reform commissions.

The Consensus Commission will come up with a charter based on the reform proposals that will gain political consensus.