{"id":5701,"date":"2026-01-19T21:52:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T15:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5701"},"modified":"2026-01-19T21:52:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T15:52:08","slug":"yunus-referendum-is-an-ominous-sign-for-bangladesh-warns-masuda-bhatti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5701","title":{"rendered":"Yunus\u2019 referendum is an ominous sign for Bangladesh, warns Masuda Bhatti"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Senior journalist Masuda Bhatti has examined the meticulously designed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=g2CjWWCrNmk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">referendum <\/a>scheduled for February 12, 2026, which will coincide with parliamentary elections. She describes it as a mechanism designed to alter the Constitution while granting indemnity to the conspirators and perpetrators behind the July 2024 anarchy, the August 5 takeover, and the establishment of what she and many critics call an illegal interim government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u0997\u09a3\u09ad\u09cb\u099f\u09c7\u09b0 \u09a8\u09be\u09ae\u09c7 \u0995\u09c0 \u0995\u09b0\u099b\u09c7 \u09b8\u09b0\u0995\u09be\u09b0? | Referendum Bangladesh\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/g2CjWWCrNmk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The referendum, illegal as per the Constitution, centres on the so-called \u201cJuly National Charter\u201d (July Charter), an 84-clause document framed by the interim administration. While the government presents the Charter as a broad reform package aimed at reshaping politics, limiting prime ministerial terms, strengthening rights, and preventing future authoritarianism, opponents view it as a carefully engineered instrument to consolidate unelected power without authentic public consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Critics argue that the Yunus administration has deliberately kept citizens in the dark about the full contents and implications of the Charter, shrouding the entire exercise in deliberate ambiguity. The ballot paper features four questions, but in essence, there is only one real question: whether or not to approve the full implementation of the July Charter. The first three questions, according to detractors, function merely as cosmetic distractions or voter bait, intended to divert attention from the core issue. The fourth question directly asks for consent to implement the Charter. A single \u201cYes\u201d on the fourth overrides any opposition to the first three, effectively bundling all 84 clauses\u2014including 47 that require direct constitutional amendment\u2014into one binding mandate. The remaining 37 clauses would then be enacted through ordinary laws, ordinances, or executive orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5596\">Sheikh Hasina slams Yunus for glorifying \u2018July Heroes\u2019 amid political turmoil<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5562\">Sheikh Hasina asks India to stand firmly for democracy, minority protection<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5534\">Sheikh Hasina asks supporters to boycott the farce election<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A \u201cYes\u201d victory would legally obligate the next elected parliament to implement every provision of the Charter; a \u201cNo\u201d would nullify the entire document. Opponents warn that among the most alarming changes is the erasure of the \u201cBengali\u201d national identity from the Constitution, reducing citizenship solely to \u201cBangladeshi.\u201d This symbolic and substantive shift is seen as a direct assault on the cultural and historical identity forged through the 1952 Language Movement and the 1971 Liberation War, when millions rallied under the cry \u201cWho are you? I am Bengali.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Charter also replaces the four foundational principles of the 1972 Constitution\u2014Bengali nationalism, democracy, socialism, and secularism\u2014with vaguer formulations: equality, human dignity, social justice, religious freedom, and harmony. Secularism is explicitly removed and replaced with references to communal coexistence and dignity, a formulation critics say echoes Pakistan\u2019s constitutional language and marks a dangerous regression for a state that has historically defined itself as secular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While some provisions\u2014such as expanding fundamental rights, constitutional recognition of uninterrupted internet access, capping any individual\u2019s tenure as prime minister at ten years, separating party leadership from the premiership, and granting constitutional status to caretaker governments\u2014may appear attractive on paper, the Charter is accused of containing deeply impractical and hazardous elements. Proposals to place civil administration under direct parliamentary control are viewed as opening fresh channels for corruption; lifetime disqualification from elections for any conviction risks weaponising partisan prosecutions; promises of mechanisms to whiten black money are seen as effectively rewarding corrupt actors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At a time when poverty has reportedly risen sharply (from 17% to 28% in a single year), education and health systems are collapsing, law and order is deteriorating, and religion is being politicised, the Charter offers no concrete solutions to these pressing everyday crises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5386\">Interview With The Wall: Sheikh Hasina signals leadership overhaul<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5696\">GCDG report highlights chaos and regime\u2019s involvement after Hadi murder<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5693\">Yunus Campaigning For \u2018Yes\u2019 Vote: Creating awareness or state manipulation?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The referendum process itself is widely condemned as unconstitutional and undemocratic, since no provision for such a plebiscite exists in the current Constitution. The interim government stands accused of mounting an aggressive, state-orchestrated campaign to secure a \u201cYes\u201d vote\u2014mobilising officials, directing commercial bank employees, and employing administrative machinery\u2014while suppressing dissenting voices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although a \u201cNo\u201d option appears on the ballot, critics insist it is illusory, with real choice denied through coercion and intimidation. Many describe the exercise as treating ordinary citizens as mere puppets in a predetermined script.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Masuda Bhatti has stressed that the true purpose of the referendum is to indemnify those responsible for the July upheaval and August power grab, thereby retroactively legitimising an interim regime that lacks electoral mandate or constitutional grounding. By wrapping sweeping, identity-altering, and principle-diluting changes in the language of \u201creform,\u201d the exercise poses what she calls a grave threat to Bangladesh\u2019s national identity, cultural heritage, and secular character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Historically, no referendum in Bangladesh has ever produced a \u201cNo\u201d victory; \u201cYes\u201d outcomes have always been secured. With the government now openly campaigning for endorsement while failing to provide transparent, comprehensive public information about the Charter, the process is widely regarded not as genuine consultation but as the rubber-stamping of pre-decided outcomes. Citizens are being asked to approve complex, far-reaching constitutional surgery without adequate understanding, in direct violation of democratic norms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5687\">Awami League vows to return to power in Delhi press conference<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5683\">UN Report: Yunus\u2019 mobocracy faces South Asia\u2019s worst inflation crisis<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5680\">International warnings grow against elections without Awami League<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether the February 12 vote ultimately delivers meaningful reform or entrenches new forms of vulnerability and authoritarian drift remains one of the most consequential\u2014and troubling\u2014questions facing Bangladesh today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Yunus Urges \u2018Yes\u2019 Vote<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amid severe criticism for conflict of interest, Yunus called on citizens to vote \u201cYes\u201d in the February 12 referendum on the July National Charter in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=K24ZoFl9NVY&amp;pp=ygUQ4KaX4Kaj4Kat4KeL4KafIA%3D%3D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">video <\/a>address to the nation on January 19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u0997\u09a3\u09ad\u09cb\u099f \u09a8\u09bf\u09df\u09c7 \u09aa\u09cd\u09b0\u09a7\u09be\u09a8 \u0989\u09aa\u09a6\u09c7\u09b7\u09cd\u099f\u09be\u09b0 \u09ad\u09be\u09b7\u09a3 | Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus Speech | \u0997\u09a3\u09ad\u09c7\u09be\u099f | Referendum\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/K24ZoFl9NVY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>He declared: \u201cThe key to building a new Bangladesh is now in your hands. Stamping \u2018Yes\u2019 will open the door to building a new Bangladesh. Stamp \u2018Yes\u2019 yourself. Encourage everyone you know to do the same and bring them to the polling centre. Change the country. InshaAllah, together we will seize this opportunity to rebuild our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yunus described the July mass uprising as \u201can extraordinary achievement in the nation\u2019s history\u201d that unexpectedly created opportunities for democracy, justice, and human rights. He said initial reforms have already been undertaken, and the July Charter\u2014prepared with the consensus of political parties\u2014represents deeper, long-term changes that require public approval through referendum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYour consent is required to implement this July Charter,\u201d he stated. \u201cA referendum has been arranged for this purpose. Participate in the referendum and give your consent to the Charter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5677\">Jamaat-Shibir is committing silent killing of Awami League members in prisons<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5675\">HRW alarmed over violence against women, girls, and minorities in Bangladesh<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5659\">Yunus approves controversial indemnity law for safeguard of July rioters<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He listed anticipated benefits of a \u201cYes\u201d vote, including freedom from discrimination, exploitation, and oppression; joint formation of caretaker governments and the Election Commission by government and opposition; safeguards against unilateral constitutional changes; opposition members as Deputy Speaker and chairs of key committees; a ten-year limit on any person\u2019s tenure as Prime Minister; judicial independence; greater women\u2019s representation in parliament; creation of an upper house to balance power; stronger protection of fundamental rights; constitutional recognition of ethnic group languages alongside Bangla; restrictions on presidential pardons for convicted criminals; and diffusion of concentrated executive power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yunus concluded: \u201cParticipate in the upcoming election and referendum. Stamp \u2018Yes\u2019 to build the state according to your expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sheikh Hasin Lambasts Yunus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Awami League President and five-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has launched a scathing attack on the interim government led by Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus, accusing it of destroying the nation\u2019s economy and law and order and turning perpetrators of violence into national heroes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u09af\u09be\u09b0\u09be \u0986\u09a4\u09cd\u09ae\u09b8\u09cd\u09ac\u09c0\u0995\u09c3\u09a4 \u09aa\u09c1\u09b2\u09bf\u09b6 \u09b9\u09a4\u09cd\u09af\u09be\u0995\u09be\u09b0\u09c0, \u09a4\u09be\u09b0\u09be \u0995\u09bf \u0986\u0987\u09a8\u09c7\u09b0 \u098a\u09b0\u09cd\u09a7\u09cd\u09ac\u09c7? | Sheikh Hasina | VoPA\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0CCCaWkYK8k?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In a fiery <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0CCCaWkYK8k&amp;pp=ygUPdm9pY2Ugb2YgYXJhZmF0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">speech<\/a>, she described Dr. Yunus as a \u201cmurderer\u201d who, through a meticulously designed plan, misled people under the guise of a movement. This resulted in the destruction of thousands of lives, widespread arson, economic ruin, and targeted killings of police officers, lawyers, Awami League leaders, workers from affiliated organisations such as Chhatra League, Jubo League, and Sramik League, as well as women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sheikh Hasina\u2019s virtual address highlighted the plight of thousands of Awami League activists currently imprisoned without fair trials or the rule of law. The speaker pointed to instances where individuals who openly admitted to burning police stations, killing officers, and destroying national assets were granted bail within hours, labelling them as \u201cJuly heroes\u201d under Yunus\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThose who commit destructive acts are now heroes,\u201d she said, contrasting this with the Awami League\u2019s achievements during its time in power. The party, according to the remarks, elevated Bangladesh to developing nation status, provided electricity to every household, ensured access to food, clothing, housing, healthcare, and education, and positioned the country as a global development role model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bangabandhu\u2019s daughter Sheikh Hasina lamented the current state of affairs, alleging that the Yunus-led government has plunged Bangladesh into economic collapse, with no social security, rampant extortion, bullying, and violence against farmers, labourers, students, daily wage earners, rickshaw pullers, and van drivers. Hundreds of thousands of Awami League leaders and activists have reportedly been displaced through fabricated cases, while killers of figures like Abu Sayed and others, including Chhatra League workers, have been celebrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She accused Yunus of seizing power unconstitutionally, leading the country toward destruction, reducing per capita income, increasing poverty, and allowing those involved in arson and murder during the movement to amass billions in wealth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sheikh Hasina also dismissed propaganda campaigns funded by Yunus through international media, claiming false accusations of mass killings and burials against her. In a sarcastic note, she remarked that those supposedly \u201cburied\u201d by the Awami League have returned \u201cwell-fed and healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senior journalist Masuda Bhatti has examined the meticulously designed referendum scheduled for February 12, 2026, which will coincide with parliamentary elections. She describes it as a mechanism designed to alter&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,1207,20,42],"tags":[77,46,50,71,54,962,75,65,56,85,1429,1318,63,1428,64],"class_list":["post-5701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","category-emergency","category-news","category-politics","tag-awami-league","tag-bnp","tag-interim-government","tag-islami-chhatra-shibir","tag-jamaat-e-islami","tag-july-charter","tag-july-conspiracy","tag-mobocracy","tag-muhammad-yunus","tag-national-citizen-party-ncp","tag-no-vote","tag-referendum","tag-sheikh-hasina","tag-yes-vote","tag-yunus-gang"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5701"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5704,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5701\/revisions\/5704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}