Will the new President receive new powers?

Major political parties, including the BNP, have reached a consensus in the July National Charter to increase the President's powers and establish a balance between the Prime Minister and the President. Although the new President may not receive these expanded powers immediately upon taking office, they could come into effect during his term.

According to the schedule, the country's 23rd President will be elected on August 20. Despite political consensus to empower the new President further, it will still take considerable time for those powers to take effect, as amending the Constitution is required to expand the President's jurisdiction. Stakeholders estimate the entire process could take one and a half to two years.

To balance power between the President and the Prime Minister, four main proposals have been included in the July National Charter. The ruling BNP, the main opposition party in parliament Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, and their electoral alliance partner, the National Citizen Party (NCP), have agreed on all of these proposals. However, some parties expressed differing views and registered "notes of dissent" on a few issues.

The most prominent proposal involves expanding the President's appointment authority. Under the proposal, Article 48(3) of the Constitution would be amended to grant the President direct authority to appoint key figures in constitutional and independent institutions without consulting or taking recommendations from the Prime Minister.

This would allow the President to independently appoint:

Chairman and members of the National Human Rights Commission
Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners of the Information Commission
Chairman and members of the Press Council
Chairman and members of the Law Commission

Similarly, proposals have been made to grant the President authority to appoint the Governor of Bangladesh Bank and the Chairman and members of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC). However, nine political parties, including the BNP, submitted a "note of dissent" regarding appointments to these two institutions.

There is also a proposal to modify the President's power to pardon convicted individuals, an idea supported by 30 political parties. Under this proposal, the presidential clemency process would be subject to legally established criteria, requiring the consent of the plaintiff or the victim's family before any application can be considered.

While political consensus has been reached on expanding the President's powers, implementation remains a matter of time. The special committee formed to amend the Constitution is still in its initial stages. Committee member and BNP Member of Parliament Advocate Zainul Abedin said that the committee has met only once so far, discussing preliminary ideas without making final decisions on specific constitutional amendments.
According to this senior Supreme Court advocate, amending the Constitution is a long and complex process. In this regard, various constitutional directives—including the verdict in the historic 8th Amendment case—must be taken into consideration. No amendment can conflict with the basic structure of the Constitution. Therefore, the process must move forward only after careful analysis of all aspects.

Zainul Abedin does not have a definitive answer regarding how much time it will take. In his view, the overall timeline will depend on how many meetings are held, what issues are brought to the table, and what final decisions are reached.

Another member of the special committee and Member of Parliament from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BJP), Andaleeve Rahman Partho, echoed the same issues. According to him, whether the President's jurisdiction will be expanded can only be stated once the agenda for constitutional amendment is finalized.

Under the current Constitution, the President's powers are already quite limited. Except for appointing the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice, the President must act on the advice of the Prime Minister when performing most other duties. Article 48(3) of the Constitution states that in the exercise of all his functions, save only that of appointing the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice, the President shall act in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister. Certain important powers, such as declaring a state of emergency and pardoning a convicted person, are granted to the President; however, constitutional frameworks and the approval of the Prime Minister remain significant even in those cases. As a result, although the President is the constitutional head of state, their role in the practical exercise of executive power has long been limited.

Following the July 2024 mass uprising, six reform commissions were formed to undertake extensive structural reforms in the state apparatus. Later, the National Consensus Commission was established to consider the recommendations of these commissions and build consensus among political parties. After 72 meetings with 33 political parties and alliances, a total of 84 recommendations—along with some notes of dissent—were included in the "July National Charter 2025."

The proposal to balance power between the President and the Prime Minister is part of that consensus. Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar, a member of the National Consensus Commission, noted that the proposal to make the President more powerful was included in the July National Charter and was also approved in the referendum. According to him, there is an obligation to implement the outcome of the referendum.

However, the constitutional amendment process has emerged as a major hurdle to implementation. According to Badiul Alam Majumdar, the BNP did not take oath as a member of the Constitution Reform Council; instead, the party formed a special committee for constitutional amendments.

Consequently, even though a political consensus has been reached on increasing the President's powers, reflecting it in constitutional reality will take time. Therefore, no new powers will be added to the hands of the individual elected President on August 20 for the time being. Until those changes take effect after navigating the long path of constitutional amendment, the presidency will remain as before—the highest constitutional position in the state, yet largely ceremonial in terms of actual executive power.