Senate of Bangladesh

The Senate of Bangladesh (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ অধিষদ) is the proposed upper house of the Jatiya Sangsad, the bicameral legislature of Bangladesh. It is going through transition phase following the success of the 2026 Bangladeshi constitutional referendum on February 12, 2026,

Background

Since independence in 1971, Bangladesh has had a unicameral legislature, the Jatiya Sangsad. After the political reforms following the July Revolution, the National Consensus Commission developed the July Charter, which proposes changes to the constitution, governance, and election framework and creating a bicameral parliament with a Senate as the upper house.

Under the "July Charter implementation order" which has approved and gazetted in November 2025, the Senate proposal is formally included as part of the constitutional referendum question to be held alongside the 2026 general election.

Structure

The Parliament of Bangladesh would be restructured into a bicameral legislature, consisting of two chambers:

Proposed composition according to July Charter

Proposed composition according to the proportional representation, and election result.

Functions and powers

Under the charter’s framework:

• Legislative review: The Senate would debate and suggest changes to bills passed by the lower house.
• Constitutional amendments: Any constitutional change would require approval by a majority of the Senate, adding a check to constitutional revisions.
• The Senate is not intended to duplicate the lower house’s functions but to act as a deliberative and revisory chamber.

References