BNP has taken a stand in favor of a “yes” vote in the referendum!

Published: 08:11 14 January 2026

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has decided to vote ‘yes’ in favor of reforms in the referendum. Nazrul Islam Khan, a member of the party’s standing committee, said that BNP has been playing an active role in the reform process from the beginning and in that vein, they will take a stand in favor of ‘yes’ in the referendum. He told reporters after a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin at the Election Building in Agargaon in the capital on Tuesday (January 13) afternoon.

Nazrul Islam Khan said that BNP was the first to raise the demand for state reforms. Based on their proposals, various reform issues came up for discussion and committees were formed in this regard. He said that BNP has actively participated in these committees, given opinions and reached consensus on many issues. Where consensus was not possible, a ‘note of dissent’ was given as part of the democratic process.

He further explained that giving a note of dissent is not an expression of opposition; Rather, it is a natural democratic method of expressing differences of opinion. Regarding women's seats, he mentioned that BNP has always been in favor of increasing women's seats and they have not given any note of dissent in this regard. Rather, he commented that some other political parties have objected to this issue and have not nominated women candidates.

Clearly stating BNP's position on the reform issue, Nazrul Islam Khan said, "We are not against reforms, but in favor of them. Therefore, we will vote 'yes' in the referendum—this is our party's decision." Political analysts believe that BNP's position regarding the referendum has become clearer through his statement.

At that time, BNP Chairman's Advisor Ismail Zabiullah, former Election Commission Secretary Dr. Mohammad Zakaria and other concerned persons were present in the meeting. It is also believed that the political situation may gain a new dimension in the upcoming referendum in view of this announcement by BNP.