Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General and former lawmaker Dr AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad said the government is assessing opposition participation in the presidential election through political narrowness rather than a liberal and democratic perspective. In a statement issued on Thursday, he described the participation as a symbolic protest against limitations in the government’s desired reform process and as a new democratic initiative.

Azad said a cabinet member had argued that the opposition’s oath in the constitutional reform council could no longer stand because it participated in the presidential election while Article 70 remained unchanged. He questioned how the oath taken as members of parliament could remain valid under that reasoning, saying no parliamentary election had been held through a constitutional process in 2026.

He said the opposition knew the election result in advance but took part to clarify its position before the public and strengthen demands for democracy. Azad urged the government not to interpret political opponents’ participation narrowly, and called for implementation of the referendum verdict and effective steps toward necessary constitutional reforms.