Bangladesh, July 31 -- Jamaat-e-Islami has threatened to sue the government and the National Consensus Commission for compensation if the July Charter is not granted legal recognition.

The warning came from the party's deputy chief Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher during a lunch break in Thursday's ongoing dialogue with the commission.

"We have made it clear -- we won't sign the July Charter without legal basis. It must be implemented within the tenure of this government. That can begin as early as [Friday]," he said.

He reiterated Jamaat's demand for the adoption of the peer system for elections, citing "longstanding electoral irregularities in Bangladesh's 54-year history" including partisan influence, rigging, fake and night-time polls....