Bangladesh referendum: The big post-election flashpoint?

"The July National Charter, which most political parties signed last year, was approved by 60.26 percent of voters. But that vote has now exposed a schism between the victorious Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, and the opposition, led by Jamaat-e-Islami. On Tuesday, newly elected BNP members of parliament refused to take an oath as members of a new Constitution Reform Council, throwing the future of reforms into doubt."

"In July 2024, students in Bangladesh began protesting against a conventional job quota system, which reserved a significant share of prized government jobs for descendants of Bangladesh's freedom fighters of 1971, now widely regarded as the political elite. Hasina ordered a brutal crackdown as the protests escalated. Nearly 1,400 people were killed, and more than 20,000 were wounded, according to the country's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), which later found Hasina guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced her to death."

National referendum approved the July National Charter with 60.26 percent support, but results exposed a split between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami. Newly elected BNP MPs refused to take oaths as members of a new Constitution Reform Council, jeopardizing the reform process. The charter was drafted by the interim caretaker government after a July 2024 uprising that began with student protests against a job quota favoring descendants of 1971 freedom fighters. A brutal crackdown left nearly 1,400 dead and over 20,000 wounded, and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of crimes against humanity, sentenced to death, and fled into exile.

Read at www.aljazeera.com