Bangladesh Defense
Saif
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Date of Event:
Jul 4, 2025
Several proposals on appointment of caretaker government's chief adviser
Riadul Karim Dhaka
Updated: 03 Jul 2025, 20: 34
Riadul Karim Dhaka
Updated: 03 Jul 2025, 20: 34
The political parties have reached a consensus on reinstating a non-partisan caretaker government system during the national election.
However, they have yet to agree on who will serve as the chief adviser of this government or how the chief adviser will be appointed.
Several proposals on this matter emerged during discussions between the political parties and the National Consensus Commission.
Further discussions will take place on these proposals.
The constitution once had provisions for an election-time caretaker government, introduced through the 13th Amendment.
Later, the caretaker system was abolished through the 15th Amendment through a court order during the Awami League government.
In December of last year, the High Court declared two sections of the 15th Amendment Act, which abolished the caretaker government system, to be in conflict with the constitution and therefore void.
The BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, five eminent citizens, and an individual have filed separate review petitions seeking reconsideration of the Appellate Division’s verdict that had upheld the abolition of the caretaker system. These petitions are awaiting hearings.
Meanwhile, both the Constitution Reform Commission and the Election System Reform Commission have recommended reintroducing the interim or caretaker government system into the constitution.
In the first round of discussions with the National Consensus Commission, all parties agreed that there should be a caretaker government. However, except for one or two, most parties did not present a detailed framework of the caretaker government to the commission.
Stakeholders have noted that it is essential to determine who will be the chief adviser and how they will be appointed. The chief adviser will nominate other members of the advisory council.
The Constitution Reform Commission had proposed that the interim government would remain in place from the end of the legislative term or dissolution of parliament until the swearing-in of the next elected government, with a maximum tenure of 90 days.
The advisory council would consist of the chief adviser and up to 15 members. The chief adviser would be appointed by a National Constitutional Council (NCC) comprising representatives from the executive, judiciary, and legislature.
However, the proposal to form the NCC was dropped following the second round of discussions of the Consensus Commission with the political parties.
Instead, a proposal was made to form a committee for appointments to constitutional and statutory bodies. As a result, the framework for the caretaker government proposed by the Constitution Reform Commission was no longer on the discussion table.
In yesterday’s discussions with the political parties, the framework that had been incorporated into the constitution through the 13th Amendment was presented. However, this was not in the proposal of the commission.
Additionally, one proposal that emerged during the first round of discussions and another from civil society were discussed. Some other issues also came up during the discussions.
What was in the constitution
The 13th Amendment had introduced the caretaker government provision in Article 58(C) of the constitution. It stipulated that the caretaker government would be headed by a chief adviser, with a maximum of 10 advisers. The president would appoint the other advisers in consultation with the chief adviser.
The constitution specified that the last retired chief justice would take the charge of the chief adviser. If that was not possible, the most recently retired chief justice prior to that would be appointed. If no retired chief justice was available or willing, the most recently retired Appellate Division judge would be appointed. Failing that, the judge retired just prior would be chosen.
If no retired Appellate Division judge was available either, the President would appoint a qualified citizen after consulting major political parties. If that too was not possible, the President would assume the responsibility of chief adviser himself as an additional duty.
This provision was presented in yesterday’s discussions of the Consensus Commission with the political parties. However, it appeared during the discussions that the parties have differing views about restoring the provision exactly as it was.
The BNP, NCP, and several other parties support keeping the judiciary out of the process. On the other hand, Jamaat-e-Islami and most other parties oppose the idea of the president assuming the role of chief adviser at any stage.
However, the BNP considers that as a last resort, the president could be considered, especially since there is broad agreement that future presidential elections will be held by secret ballot.
Recommendations of the Election Reform Commission
The Election System Reform Commission recommended a 20-member caretaker government. They suggested that if the recommendation of the Constitutional Council is not accepted, a high-level committee should be formed comprising representatives of political parties, experts, civil society, and other key stakeholders to develop a framework for the caretaker government. So far, this proposal has scarcely been discussed.
NCP's proposal
On 25 May, the National Citizen Party (NCP) presented a framework for an election-time caretaker government to the Consensus Commission.
According to their proposal, at least three weeks before dissolving the lower house of parliament, an 11-member all-party committee would be formed.
The number of members from each parliamentary party in this committee would be determined proportionately to their share of votes. Any party must have secured at least 5 per cent of the votes to be included in this committee.
Any member of either chamber of parliament (upper or lower house) would be eligible to be on this committee. The ruling party, the main opposition, and other opposition parties would each propose three non-partisan candidates for the position of chief adviser, making a total of nine nominees. The names proposed by each party would have to be made public.
These proposed names would be sent to the all-party parliamentary committee to finalise one name. The committee would confirm the chief adviser by an 8-3 vote.
If the committee fails to agree on a suitable candidate from the proposed names, the upper house would select the chief adviser through ‘ranked choice voting’.
In the second round of discussions with the Consensus Commission, this NCP proposal was formally presented. Some parties have expressed moderate support for this proposal. For example, in yesterday’s discussion, Bangladesh JASAD’s Mushtaq Hossain said that NCP’s proposal could be a reasonable basis for agreement.
Other ideas discussed
Several other proposals also came up in yesterday’s discussions with the Consensus Commission. Some suggested reviving a provision that previously existed in the constitution, where the President, after consulting major political parties, would appoint a qualified citizen as the chief adviser.
Others proposed forming an all-party parliamentary committee chaired by the Speaker of Parliament, which would decide through discussion who should be the chief adviser.
In the first round of discussions with the Consensus Commission, Jamaat-e-Islami had proposed two alternatives, as announced by its Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher on 18 May. Their first proposal was that the last retired chief justice would serve as the chief adviser.
The second was to form a search committee—comprising the prime minister, leader of the opposition, and chief justice—to nominate the chief adviser. However, in the second round of discussions, Jamaat-e-Islami has not yet formally presented these proposals.
Additionally, a citizen platform called ‘Citizen Coalition’ also provided a framework for a caretaker government to the Consensus Commission, which was presented in yesterday’s discussions.
Their proposal suggested forming an 11-member all-party parliamentary committee two months before dissolving parliament, with 6 members from the ruling party and 5 from the opposition. Both the government and the opposition would nominate 3 candidates each.
At least 8 members of the committee would need to agree to appoint the chief adviser. If the committee fails to reach consensus, the upper house would elect one candidate from the 6 nominees through 'ranked choice voting'.
The Consensus Commission will hold further discussions with political parties on the caretaker government next week. After yesterday’s discussions, the commission’s vice chairman Professor Ali Riaz told reporters that all political parties share a common view on restoring the caretaker government system.
He said discussions focused on the process for appointing the chief adviser, and that the political parties have come closer on this issue.
