Bangladesh’s Constitution Reform Commission has recommended dropping the fundamental principles such as “secularism” and “socialism” from the country’s Constitution, Prothom Alo reported on Wednesday.

The commission, in a report submitted to the chief of Bangladesh’s interim government Muhammad Yunus, recommended that three principles “secularism”, “socialism” and “nationalism” be replaced with “equality”, “human dignity”, “social justice” and “pluralism”.

Out of the four existing principles enshrined in the Constitution enacted in 1972, only “democracy” is proposed to be retained.

The commission contended that the four new principles reflect the spirit of the 1971 Liberation War and the aspirations of the citizens after the protests in 2024 that toppled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government in August.

The interim government had established six reform commissions after Hasina fled to India, following widespread student-led anti-government protests that resulted in 560 deaths.

The Constitution reform commission also recommended lowering the minimum age for contesting national elections from 25 to 21, allowing youngsters to better represent their aspirations in Parliament.

Besides, it proposed limiting the prime minister’s tenure to two terms and the creation of a bicameral Parliament consisting of a Lower House called the National Assembly with 400 seats and an Upper House, called the Senate, having 105 seats.

Three other reform commissions pertaining to anti-corruption measures and changes to the police and election systems also submitted their reports to Yunus.

The interim government is expected to hold discussions with political parties in February about the proposed changes before implementing them based on a consensus.