Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General Hamidur Rahman Azad has said the government is assessing the opposition’s participation in the presidential election from a “narrow political perspective.”

In a statement today, he said the government was viewing the opposition’s participation in the presidential election through a politically narrow lens instead of a liberal and democratic perspective.

According to him, a cabinet member of the government said the opposition’s participation in the presidential election while retaining Article 70 of the constitution invalidates the oath taken by the opposition members in the Constitutional Reform Council.

“We want to know -- if this argument is acceptable, how does the oath taken as members of parliament remain valid? Because no parliamentary election was held through a constitutional process in 2026,” he said.

Hamidur added, “We knew in advance what the outcome of the election would be. Even so, we participated to make our position clear to the people and strengthen the demand for democracy.”

The presidential election had earlier sparked debate over Article 70 of the constitution and whether lawmakers could vote independently. Under the article, a lawmaker’s seat becomes vacant if they vote against the party that nominated them for election.

Jamaat had said that retaining Article 70 meant lawmakers would not have the opportunity to vote freely in the presidential election. A writ petition challenging the provision was dismissed by the High Court on August 18.

Hamidur said the opposition’s participation in the presidential election had made people realise anew why constitutional reform is essential to make democracy in Bangladesh effective, accountable and sustainable.