BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed has said that whether a Prime Minister can also serve as the head of a political party should be left to the internal decision-making of political parties, rather than being restricted by external rules.

He made the remarks on Tuesday after the 17th day of the second phase of talks between political parties and the National Consensus Commission.

“Most political parties agree that the Prime Minister should also be the parliamentary leader. However, there is no rule stating that the party chief must be the Prime Minister,” Salahuddin said. “In democratic practice, a person may become Prime Minister but may not remain party chief later. It is a matter for the party or coalition to decide.”

He stressed that the issue is linked to individual rights and that the position should remain open for decision within parties. “It is not fair to bar someone from becoming Prime Minister solely because they are the party chief,” he added.

On the appointment of a Chief Adviser under a possible non-partisan caretaker government, Salahuddin said the commission had proposed a ranked-choice voting method. However, BNP expressed concern that such a system might lead to deadlock and instead recommended following the framework outlined in the 13th Amendment of the Constitution as a last resort.

He noted that a consensus within the search or appointment committee would be ideal. “But if the committee fails to reach unanimous agreement, then the 13th Amendment should be the fallback mechanism,” he said.

BNP did not participate in today’s final discussion item, which focused on appointments to constitutional and statutory bodies. Salahuddin said the party would express its views on the matter in upcoming sessions.

Besides BNP, 30 political parties joined today’s dialogue, including Jamaat-e-Islami, National Citizens’ Party (NCP), Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Islami Andolon, and Gonosonghoti Andolon.

The session was chaired by National Consensus Commission Vice President Professor Ali Riaz. Other attendees included commission members Soffar Raj Hossain, Badiul Alam Majumdar, Justice Emdadul Haque, Iftekharuzzaman, and Md. Ayub Mia. The discussion was moderated by Monir Haidar, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser (Consensus Commission).