The Bangladesh High Court makes it possible to reinstate the caretaker government system

INN/Dhaka, @Infodeaofficial

The High Court of Bangladesh reinstated the non-party caretaker government system’s constitutional authority for holding parliamentary elections on Tuesday. There is no legal barrier to restoring the caretaker government system, according to United News of Bangladesh (UNB), which notes that the Court has noted that the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Bangladesh contradicts its basic framework and compromises important democratic principles.

The comments were delivered by a High Court bench made up of Justices Farah Mahbub and Debasish Roy Chowdhury during the court’s Tuesday ruling on the highly contested Fifteenth Amendment and the elimination of the caretaker government system. According to the High Court’s views, democracy is at the heart of the Constitution and can only be guaranteed by free, fair, and credible elections. According to UNB, it further stated that the caretaker government system, which was established by political agreement, had grown to be a crucial part of the fundamental structure of the Constitution.

An unelected interim government in Bangladesh entrusted with holding free and fair general elections is known as the caretaker government. The President appoints the Chief Adviser, who serves as the head of government in place of the Prime Minister. Other advisers, who serve as ministers, are chosen by the chief advisor. They want the appointees to be impartial. The caretaker administration is not allowed to run for office and is only allowed to make required policy choices.

After the general election, Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was chosen once more to serve as prime minister in February 1996. The main opposition parties, the Awami League, the Jatiya Party, and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, boycotted the election, which was called by Zia’s government instead of a neutral caretaker government. Zia was re-elected after the BNP won a sweeping win with little opposition.

The opposition called for a caretaker administration and fresh elections. Due to civil disturbance, the 13th amendment to the Bangladeshi Constitution was passed in late March 1996, bringing with it the practice of nonpartisan caretaker governments in order to hold general elections. Sheikh Hasina became the first prime minister of Bangladesh after the Awami League won the general election in June 1996 thanks to the caretaker government arrangement.

With the 15th constitutional amendment, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League-led government removed caretaker governments in 2011, a decision that was criticised by civil society organisations and other political organisations. The Daily Star newspaper reports that the HC said future governments will decide on these matters and did not interfere with the 15th Amendment Act’s provisions that deal with state principles, such as secularism, socialism, state region, nationalism, father of the nation, and the number of reserved seats for women in parliament.

Political and legal experts have pointed out that the High Court’s decision makes it possible to review and reinstate the caretaker government structure, which many people feel is essential to staging legitimate elections and maintaining the country’s democratic stability.