President Mohammed Shahabuddin has announced the “July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order, 2025,” officially removing the clause that would have automatically added reform proposals to the constitution if the Constitutional Reform Council failed to act within a set period.

Under the new directive, once the referendum is approved, the upcoming parliament will hold a dual authority — serving both as the national legislature and the Constitutional Reform Council. It will have 180 days from its first session to complete the process of passing constitutional amendments.

Previously, the Consensus Commission had advised that the Reform Council be given 270 days to finalize constitutional changes. Another proposal on the table suggested that, if the council failed to deliver within that time, the reform measures should automatically become part of the constitution — a clause strongly opposed by the BNP and its allied parties.

The president’s order comes amid calls from Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP) to give the July Charter formal legal status. The NCP had argued that the order should be issued by the chief adviser instead of the president.

Earlier in the day, the Advisory Council approved the order during a meeting, after which the chief adviser signed it and forwarded it to the president for promulgation, according to the CA Press Wing.