Dhaka, Jan. 20 -- Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader has called on the public to vote "No" in the referendum, describing the July Charter as "unconstitutional and a threat to national stability".

Speaking at a media briefing in Dhaka on Tuesday to announce the party's final list of candidates and review the overall election situation, he said the government had lost public trust by organising a referendum in breach of the Constitution.

He warned that the proposed constitutional amendments would strip the prime minister or chief executive of effective authority, making it impossible to govern.

"You may try to stop autocracy, but how will a country be run if the person in charge is given no power?" he said, calling the amendments "illegal, ...