18th Amendment to Constitution likely in January

The government is moving forward to place the 18th Amendment to the Constitution in Parliament in January 2027, followed by another referendum to validate the major structural changes. The move, however, has triggered a fresh legal and political debate over whether a fresh referendum can be held and under what constitutional authority.
The Special Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Amendment is currently working to finalise the report on the proposed 18th Amendment. The committee plans to finalise its report in December. The recommendations would subsequently be converted into the 18th Amendment Bill through the law ministry and placed before Parliament in the first session of 2027, said Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, who is also chairman of the special committee.
In this manner, the proposed 18th Amendment is going to be introduced to bring radical changes to several key structural provisions, including matters such as executive powers, legislative oversight, and the democratic governance framework.
However, the opposition parties remain rigid on their stance on forming a “Constitution Reform Council” instead of the parliamentary route.
About the government’s plan, legal experts have expressed mixed reactions regarding the procedural validity of a referendum under the current legal framework. The controversy centres largely on Article 142 of the constitution, which governs constitutional amendments.
Senior lawyer of Bangladesh Supreme Court Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir, who represented Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami in the 15th Amendment case, said that the current Constitution does not allow any referendum. The referendum provision in Article 142 was repealed following the 15th Amendment.

On the other hand, Attorney General Barrister Md Ruhul Qudus Kazal said that a referendum is a constitutional process used worldwide to affirm major structural changes. He said that Parliament can proceed on the basis of the Supreme Court (SC) judgment. Following the SC verdict, he said that the restoration of the referendum provision and other constitutional matters could now be addressed through Parliament, he added.
However, both the attorney general and Advocate Shishir Manir said that if Article 142 of the Constitution is restored, there will be no legal bar to hold a referendum.
Article 142 previously contained explicit guidelines for constitutional amendments to a public vote/referendum before its modification in earlier constitutional revisions. Constitutional experts said that Parliament would first need to restore the constitutional mechanics of Article 142 before putting the substantive 18th Amendment proposals to a national referendum.
Salahuddin said that the committee is now examining how that restored constitutional mechanism would operate in the proposed amendment process.
According to him, if the amendment involves certain fundamental provisions, including the Preamble and Article 142, a referendum would be held after parliamentary passage but before presidential assent. If voters approve the changes, the President would then give assent to the bill.
Dispute exposes a broader divide
The dispute has also exposed a broader divide over the method of constitutional reform. The government is pursuing the process through Parliament's special committee, while opposition parties have demanded the formation of a Constitutional Reform Council and implementation of the July National Charter 2025.
Against this backdrop, political analysts emphasised broad agreement between the government and opposition.
Newspaper editors in the 29 September meeting with the parliamentary special committee said that ensuring the opposition’s role in amending the constitution is needed.

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Talking to the Daily Sun, Dr Md Shahabul Haque, a professor in the Department of Political Studies of Shahjalal University of Science & Technology (SUST), Sylhet, said that constitutional amendments concern the fundamental structure of a state; therefore, the greater the political participation and consensus behind such initiatives, the higher their acceptability. 
The 12-member special parliamentary committee was formed on 13 July. The original proposal envisaged a 17-member committee, including five representatives from the opposition.
The parliamentary committee held its first meeting on 4 August and later began consultations with stakeholders. It subsequently met political parties and held discussions with journalists and representatives of media organisations.
The second meeting was held on 27 September with signatories of the July Charter. Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, National Citizen Party (NCP) and some other parties did not join the meeting as they want implementation of the July Charter.
The government has been saying that the July Charter will remain the principal basis for the constitutional changes.
The proposed constitutional amendments may cover the Preamble, several key articles and the introduction of a referendum provision. The non-party caretaker government system is also among the most politically significant issues in the amendment package.
The parliamentary committee plans to recommend restoring “Absolute Trust and Faith in Almighty Allah” to the Preamble and Article 8, replacing the existing state policy of secularism.
Possible amendments may also concern the President’s role under Article 48, the Prime Minister and Cabinet under Article 56, and the procedure for amending the Constitution under Article 142.
Changes may also be proposed to Article 4A, which concerns the display of “the portrait of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman” at the offices of the President, prime minister, speaker and chief justice, as well as other specified places.

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Under Article 7B of the Constitution, the Preamble, all provisions of Part I and Part II, most provisions of Part III, and provisions relating to the Constitution’s basic structure, including Article 150, are protected from amendment by insertion, modification, substitution, repeal or any other means.
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