Ali Riaz (center), head of the Bangladesh Constitutional Reform Commission, speaks during a press conference in Dhaka on November 3, 2024. | Photo credit: AFP

Bangladesh’s Constitutional Reform Commission, newly appointed following the student-led revolution that toppled longtime autocrat Sheikh Hasina, pledged on Sunday (November 3, 2024) to eliminate “fascism” to safeguard democracy .

The commission must submit its recommendations to the interim government by December 31 – part of sweeping changes promised by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, who was named the country’s “chief advisor” after the August uprising.

Reform commission chairman Ali Riaz, who is also a political science professor at Illinois State University, said the goal was to draft a constitution that “reflects the aspirations” of Bangladeshis.

“Under the current constitution, the prime minister wields immense power, and this centralization of authority paves the way for fascism,” Riaz said, speaking to reporters for the first time since the creation of the commission by the interim government in early October.

“The imbalance of power is at the origin of fascism,” he added.

Other members include senior lawyers, law professors from Dhaka University, human rights activists and a student leader – among those who led the protests against Hasina.

The process will involve rounds of discussions with constitutional experts, lawyers and representatives of civil society, as well as between the government and political parties.

“The caretaker government will discuss the proposals with all political parties and forward its recommendations to the commission,” he said.

“The final version will be established after a series of discussions.”

Hasina’s 15-year rule was marked by widespread human rights violations, including mass detentions and extrajudicial executions of her political opponents.

His government has also been accused of politicizing the courts and the civil service, as well as organizing lopsided elections, in order to dismantle democratic controls on its power.

Mr Yunus has previously said he inherited a “completely broken” public administration system that required a complete overhaul to prevent a future return to autocracy.