In Bangladesh, the High Court on Tuesday restored the constitutional provision of the non-party caretaker government system for holding parliamentary elections. The Court has observed that the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Bangladesh contradicted its fundamental framework and rendered key democratic principles compromised, emphasising that there is no legal bar to reinstating the caretaker government system, reports United News Of Bangladesh (UNB).
A High Court bench comprising Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury made the remarks while delivering its verdict on the much-debated Fifteenth Amendment and the abolition of the caretaker government system on Tuesday.
In its observations, the High Court said that the core of the Constitution lies in democracy, which can only be ensured through free, fair, and credible elections. It added that the caretaker government system, introduced through political consensus, had become an essential component of the Constitution’s basic framework, reports UNB.
A caretaker government of Bangladesh, is an unelected interim government in Bangladesh tasked with organizing free and fair general elections. The Chief Adviser, the head of government in lieu of the Prime Minister, is appointed by the President. The Chief Advisor appoints other advisers, who act as ministers. The appointments are intended to be nonpartisan. The caretaker government is only permitted to make necessary policy decisions, and may not contest the elections.
In February 1996, Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was elected as Prime Minister again following the general election. The election was organized by Zia’s government rather than a neutral caretaker government and was boycotted by the major opposition parties − the Awami League, Jatiya Party and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. Without major competition, the BNP won a landslide victory and Zia was re-elected. The opposition demanded new elections under a caretaker government. Civil unrest led to these demands being met in late-March 1996 with the 13th amendment to the Constitution of Bangladesh and introduction of the practice of non-partisan caretaker governments for the holding of general elections. The system of caretaker government paved the way for Awami League victory in the June 1996 general election and Sheikh Hasina became the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for the first time.
In 2011, the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League-led government itself abolished caretaker governments with the 15th constitutional amendment, a move that sparked criticism from various political quarters and civil society groups.
In the verdict, the HC did not interfere in the provisions of the 15th Amendment Act which deals with the state principles including the secularism, socialism, state region, nationalism, father of the nation and number of reserved seats for women in parliament, saying that the future governments will take the decision about these issues, writes the Daily Star newspaper.
Legal and political analysts have noted that the High Court’s ruling opens the door for revisiting and restoring the caretaker government framework, a measure many believe is crucial to holding credible elections and ensuring the nation’s democratic stability.