The July National Charter 2025 (Bengali: জুলাই জাতীয় সনদ ২০২৫) is a political declaration in Bangladesh based on the consensus between 30 political parties and the interim government over the constitutional, electoral, and administrative reforms in the aftermath of the July Uprising in 2024. It was signed on 17 October 2025 at South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad by the National Consensus Commission and 24 political parties of Bangladesh, with other two parties signing later, bringing the total to 26 political parties.
Over 80 reform proposals have been proposed in the charter, including constitutional, judicial and legislative reforms. Key proposals include increasing women's political representation in the legislature, imposing prime ministerial term limits, enhancing presidential powers, expanding fundamental rights, and protecting judicial freedom. However, some signatory parties have expressed disagreement to certain proposals, leading the analysts to question the proper implementation of the provisions of the charter.
Draft
The July Charter follows the July Uprising, in July 2024. A preliminary draft of the July Charter, intended to bring reform to the Constitution of Bangladesh, was released on 28 July 2025, following a series of consultations involving the 30 political parties and the interim government under Muhammad Yunus. These discussions were facilitated by the National Consensus Commission, a commission formed by the Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus to draft the document. After further deliberation and review, the participating parties are expected to formally sign and adopt the final version of the charter. The charter consists of 28 points. On 31 July 2025, protesters injured during the July Uprising blockaded Dhaka's Shahbag intersection, demanding the immediate declaration of the "July Charter" and "July Declaration". The demonstration caused major traffic disruption, with participants vowing to continue until their demands are fulfilled.
Objectives
The commitments of the Charter include:
Ensuring its full implementation in accordance with public aspirations and sacrifices;
Enacting recommendations related to governance, the judiciary, elections, public administration, law enforcement, and anti-corruption through necessary constitutional amendments, legal revisions, or new legislation;
Completing these reforms within two years of the formation of a government elected after the Charter's formal adoption;
Establishing legal and constitutional safeguards throughout the implementation process;
Guaranteeing full legal and constitutional protection for the Charter's contents; and
Formally recognizing, within the Constitution, the historical significance of the 2024 pro-democracy movement and popular uprising that led to the Charter.
Finalisation and signature
The July Charter was finalised in August 2025 after weeks of consensus talks. During the process, 11 notes of dissent, 9 of which came from the BNP and its allies, were filed to register disagreement with some key aspects of the July Charter. However, commission vice-president Ali Riaz remained optimistic about the implementation of the Charter.
The charter was signed on 17 October 2025 at South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad by the National Consensus Commission and 24 political parties of Bangladesh. The Gano Forum signed the charter on 19 October 2025. The National Citizen Party signed the charter on 16 February 2026, bringing the total number of signatory to 26 political parties.
"Bangladeshi" will replace "Bengali" as the nationality of the citizens of Bangladesh.
A two-thirds majority in the proposed lower house and a simple majority in the proposed upper house of the legislature will be required to amend the constitution.
A two-thirds majority in both houses will be required to impeach the president.
Presidential pardon will be subject to the consent of the family of the victims.
One person cannot serve as the prime minister for more than 10 years
The Caretaker system will be reinstated, and will be formed by the consensus among the ruling party, the main opposition and the second opposition parties.
The Election Commission will be formed under the supervision of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice.
Number of the appointed justices in the appellate division will be determined by the needs of the chief justice, and appointment of justices in the high court will be solely vested on the chief justice.
Full freedom of judiciary will be constitutionally guaranteed, necessary numbers of high court benches will be established in each division, Supreme Judicial Council will be strengthened, and the supreme court will be entrusted with the control of the appointment of lower court judges.
An Ombudsman will be appointed under the supervision of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Prime Minister, Leaders of Opposition Parties, and the Justices of the Appellate Division.
Separate committees will be formed comprising opposition parties for the appointment of the Public Service Commission, the appointment of the auditor general and comptroller, and the appointment of the Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman and Commissioner.
A new article will be added to the constitution calling to prevent the misuse of constitutional powers.
Legal reforms
37 reforms will be brought by amending the existing acts, ordinances, executive orders, and bills:
Special rights, limits of rights, and responsibilities of committees and members of parliament will be defined through legislation.
Reforms brought by the interim government before the general election such law on gerrymandering, mandatory code of conduct for incumbent and former judges, establishment of the supreme court secretariat, formation of an independent criminal investigation service, increase in the manpower of the judiciary, conversion of the National Legal Aid Agency into a directorate, details of assets of judges and supporting staff, digitalization of court management, and issues related to the code of conduct for lawyers will be recognized through legislation.
An independent and permanent Public Administration Reform Commission to implement public administration reform programs will be formed, additionally the existing Public Service Commission will be divided into Public Service Commission (General), Public Service Commission (Education), and Public Service Commission (Health).
July National Charter (Constitutional Amendment) Implementation Order, 2025
On 13 November 2025, the President of Bangladesh, Mohammed Shahabuddin issued the "July National Charter (Constitutional Amendment) Implementation Order, 2025" to implement the July Charter, which effectively gave the Bangladesh Election Commission authorization to organize a referendum and make the necessary legal arrangements.
This order provides for a national referendum in which voters will approve or reject the proposed reforms, including the establishment of a caretaker government and an independent election commission, the introduction of a bicameral parliament, term limits for the prime minister, enhanced presidential powers and judicial independence, and increased women’s representation in parliament. If approved, a "Constitution Reform Council" composed of all newly elected members of parliament will be formed to complete the constitutional amendments within 180 working days from the date of commencement of its first session, upon which the Council shall be dissolved. While certain provisions of the order take effect immediately, others will be implemented only upon a positive referendum result, with the election commission responsible for organizing the vote and facilitating the legal process to formally incorporate the July Charter into the Constitution of Bangladesh.
Constitutional Referendum
A constitutional referendum took place in Bangladesh on 12 February 2026, alongside the general election. Voters were asked about the provisions of the July Charter and related amendments to the Constitution of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party and many more remained neutral but stated that it would benefit some parties even more, notably the student-led party National Citizen Party. BNP later said that it supported state recognition of the charter, but opposed incorporating the July Charter in the constitution.
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