A friend is one who takes me for what I am........ সম্প্রতি একাডেমিক কারনে তত্ত্বাবধায়ক সরকার বিষয়ক একটি ফিচার লিখি...... আপনাদের কারো কাজে লাগতে পারে ভেবে শেয়ার করা....... In politics, a caretaker government rules temporarily. A caretaker government is often set up following a war until stable democratic rule can be restored, or installed, in which case it is often referred to as a provisional government. In some countries (including Australia and New Zealand) the term is used to describe the government that operates in the interim period between the normal dissolution of parliament for the purpose of holding an election and the formation of a new government after the election results are known. Caretaker governments may also be put in place when a government in a parliamentary system is defeated in a motion of no confidence, or in the case when the house to which the government is responsible is dissolved, to rule the country for an interim period until an election is held and a new government is formed. This type of caretaker government is adopted in Bangladesh where an advisor council led by the former chief judge rules the country for three months before an elected government takes over. In systems where coalition governments are frequent a caretaker government may be installed temporarily while negotiations to form a new coalition take place. This usually occurs either immediately after an election in which there is no clear victor or if one coalition government collapses and a new one must be negotiated. Caretaker governments are expected to handle daily issues and prepare budgets for discussion, but are not expected to produce a government platform or introduce controversial bills. Non-party Caretaker Government One of the more interesting constitutional innovations of recent times is the Bangladeshi Non-party caretaker government. This is covered in chapter IIA of the Bangladesh Constitution. Bangladesh is a parliamentary system with a largely ceremonial President who is appointed by the Parliament. The Executive is embedded is the Legislative, similar to the Australian Westminster style systems. In Australia the caretaker convention is that the Government does not do anything odd, unusual, or out of the ordinary during an election period in relation to governance. In most of these convention instances they remain valid only as long as someone doesn't break them. For instance the convention prior to 1975 in Australian Federal parliament was that the States would appoint a Senator of the same party as an outgoing one. This did not happen twice in the run up to the Dismissal and soon after a constitutional amendment came down forcing this behavior. Presumably, a Bangladeshi government did not honor the caretaker convention, and the Bangladeshis, unwilling to trust any party machine with the caretaker convention, took over the running of government themselves during this period. The Non-party Caretaker Government is headed by a Chief Advisor who adopts the role of Prime Minister and advises the President as head of the Executive. The Chief Advisor and up to ten other non-party advisors comprise a citizens executive cabinet and are appointed by the President. The Chief Advisor is the last retired Chief Justice. The other advisors cannot be members of parliament, cannot be running for election, cannot be members of a party and must be under seventy-two years of age. This mixes community specialists with a judicial specialist. The constitution grants the Chief Advisor and Advisors the remuneration and status of the Prime Minister and Ministers respectively during this period. Like the caretaker conventions in Australia which implies no policy decisions will be made by an interim government, the Bangladesh constitution entrenches this requirement and the Non-party Caretaker Government is excluded from making policy. From the Constitution; The caretaker concept is contained in the 13th amendment to the constitution. 58B. Non-Party Care-taker Government (1) There shall be a Non-Party Care-taker Government during the period from the date on which the Chief Adviser of such government enters upon office after Parliament is dissolved or stands dissolved by reason of expiration of its term till the date on which a new Prime Minister enters upon his office after the constitution of Parliament. (2) The Non-Party Care-taker Government shall be collectively responsible to the President. (3) The executive power of the Republic shall, during the period mentioned in clause (1), be exercised, subject to the provisions of article 58D(1), in accordance with this Constitution, by or on the authority of the Chief Adviser and shall be exercised by him in accordance with the advice of the Non-Party Care-taker Government. (4) The provisions of article 55(4), (5) and (6) shall (with the necessary adaptations) apply to similar matters during the period mentioned in clause (1). 58C. Composition of the Non-Party Care-taker Government, appointment of Advisers, etc. (1) Non-Party Care-taker Government shall consist of the Chief Adviser at its head and not more than ten other Advisors, all of whom shall be appointed by the President. (2) The Chief Adviser and other Advisers shall be appointed within fifteen days after Parliament is dissolved or stands dissolved, and during the period between the date on which Parliament is dissolved or stands dissolved and the date on which the Chief Adviser is appointed, the Prime Minister and his cabinet who were in office immediately before Parliament was dissolved or stood dissolved shall continue to hold office as such. (3) The President shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Chief Justices of Bangladesh retired last and who is qualified to be appointed as an Adviser under this article: Provided that if such retired Chief Justice is not available or is not willing to hold the office of Chief Adviser, the President shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Chief Justices of Bangladesh retired next before the last retired Chief Justice. (4) If no retired Chief Justice is available or willing to hold the office of Chief Advise, the President shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Judges of the Appellate Division retired last and who is qualified to be appointed as an Adviser under this article: Provided that if such retired Judge is not available or is not willing to hold the office of Chief Adviser, the President shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Judges of the Appellate Division retired next before the last such retired Judge. (5) If no retired judge of the Appellate Division is available or willing to hold the office of Chief Adviser, the President shall, after consultation, as far as practicable, with the major political parties, appoint the Chief Adviser from among citizens of Bangladesh who are qualified to be appointed as Advisers under this article. (6) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Chapter, if the provisions of clauses (3), (4) and (5) cannot be given effect to, the President shall assume the functions of the Chief Adviser of the Non-Party Care-taker Government in addition to his own functions under this Constitution. (7) The President shall appoint Advisers from among the persons who are- 1. qualified for election as members of parliament; 2. not members of any political party or of any organisation associated with or affiliated to any political party; 3. not, and have agreed in writing not to be, candidates for the ensuing election of members of parliament; 4. not over seventy-two years of age. (8) The Advisers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Chief Adviser. (9) The Chief Adviser or an Adviser may resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the President. (10) The Chief Adviser or an Adviser shall cease to be Chief Adviser or Adviser if he is disqualified to be appointed as such under this article. (11) The Chief Adviser shall have the status, and shall be entitled to the remuneration and privileges, of a Prime Minister and an Adviser shall have the status, and shall be entitled to the remuneration and privileges, of a Minister. (12) The Non-Party Care-taker Government shall stand dissolved on the date on which the prime Minister enters upon his office after the constitution of new parliament. 58D. Functions of Non-Party Care-taker Government (1) The Non-Party Care-taker Government shall discharge its functions as an interim government and shall carry on the routine functions of such government with the aid and assistance of persons in the services of the Republic; and, except in the case of necessity for the discharge of such functions its shall not make any policy decision. (2) The Non-Party Care-taker Government shall give to the Election Commission all possible aid and assistance that may be required for bolding the general election of members of parliament peacefully, fairly and impartially. 58E. Certain provisions of the Constitution to remain ineffective Notwithstanding anything contained in articles 48(3), 141A(1) and 141C(1) of the Constitution, during the period the Non-Party Care-taker government is functioning, provisions in the constitution requiring the President to act on the advice of the Prime Minister or upon his prior counter-signature shall be ineffective. Caretaker Government; Back to the Past In the parlance of institutional government, a caretaker government is one which normally takes care of state administration for an interim period until the regular new government is formed. In established parliamentary system, there is a convention of transformation of the outgoing government into a caretaker government for the time being before the holding of general election. Such temporary government exists only to perform day to day administrative jobs, and is not supposed to deal with policy initiating functions which may influence the election results. During the period the caretaker government maintains neutral status for ensuring free and fair general elections. In the parliamentary framework, after the dissolution of one ministry, the practice of establishing caretaker government for organizing general polls has been observed in all democratic countries. Caretaker government, 1990 In Bangladesh the demand for neutral caretaker government largely originated from a lack of general agreement among the competing parties to maintain legitimate means of changing government and uphold unbiased election system. During the pre-independence days, the elections of 1954 and 1970 were widely acclaimed as fair polls having significant impact on the people's movements which ultimately led to the emergence of sovereign Bangladesh in 1971. In the period since independence, there was, however, a gradual public alienation from the election process owing to alleged electoral malpractices. As such, election results were always a foregone conclusion rendering no positive effects on the political process. The crisis of people's confidence in the stage-managed election system reached its peak during the rule of General H.M. Ershad. Restoration of democracy through fair polls was ultimately transformed into a united anti-Ershad movement by the combined opposition parties with a forceful demand for a neutral caretaker government. Opposition formula for the formation of neutral caretaker government was categorically mentioned in the 1990 Joint Declaration of the Three (political) Party Alliances. The Declaration specified inter alia that the political alliances would participate in the elections only when conducted by a neutral non-partisan caretaker government; but before that Ershad government would have to be forced to resign and an interim caretaker government would be formed; thereafter, election commission would be reconstituted by the caretaker government to hold free and fair election. In the face of the anti-government public outburst and mass upsurge, General Ershad had to yield to the movement. As such the framework for the formation of caretaker government advanced when the Joint Declaration was translated into reality on 6 December 1990 through the handing over state power to the nominee of the combined opposition Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, the Chief Justice of Bangladesh. Earlier, the then Vice President Moudud Ahmed resigned and Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed was installed as the Vice President. Then General Ershad stepped down from the presidency giving his charge to the Chief Justice emerging as the country's Acting President and head of the neutral caretaker government. Subsequently, 17 Advisers of the caretaker government were appointed. It may be mentioned that the neutral caretaker government of 1990 was constituted without any prior constitutional amendments. It was understandable that there was indeed a difficulty in convening the existing national parliament owing to shortage of time. The caretaker government of Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, however, had the basis of support from the general people and parties and thus the legality of its activities was never questioned. All measures taken by the caretaker government were thus subsequently ratified in 1991 by the popularly elected Fifth Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament). Caretaker government, 1996 In 1990 the demand for caretaker government was raised by the mainstream opposition political parties with the immediate objective of removing Ershad government from power and restoring democracy through fair polls. Thus any future necessity for such caretaker administration during elections was not considered by the Joint Declaration of the opposition. Although there was a proposal from the left parties for conducting subsequent three elections under a caretaker government, this was not supported by the two major parties, Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). In 1991, the restoration of parliamentary system on the basis of consensus marked a positive development. But soon disagreements on major national issues, mutual intolerance and lack of trust among the competing parties confirmed that the issue of caretaker government became the central theme of Bangladesh politics only two years after the reintroduction of parliamentary democracy. The opposition through sustained boycott of the Sangsad and frequent hartals tried to force the ruling party to accept their demand. At the initial phase of their movement, opposition parties did not have unanimity with regard to the framework of the proposed caretaker government. This was visualised by three separate bills submitted by the Jamaat-E-Islami, Awami League and Jatiya Party to the parliamentary secretariat in 1991, October 1993 and mid November 1993 respectively. The essence of these bills was more or less similar, but differed on selection of the head of the caretaker government. While Awami League was in favour of appointing the Chief Justice as the head of the interim government, Jatiya Party proposed for selecting a neutral person as the head of the caretaker government, and Jamaat-e-Islami demanded for forming an advisory council headed by a neutral person to be appointed by the President. These bills, however, were not placed in the Jatiya Sangsad because of opposition boycott of the Sangsad and government's reluctance to consider the case. This made the three major opposition parties to come closer and materialise their caretaker demand through agitation and hartals. To press the ruling party, they went to the extent of submitting en masse resignation of 147 opposition parliamentarian on 28 December 1994. In the face of continuous agitation of the combined opposition, the Fifth Sangsad was dissolved and preparations were underway for forming the Sixth Sangsad to enact constitutional amendment for caretaker government. Having failed to convince the mainstream opposition, the ruling BNP moved unilaterally to legalise the caretaker government after the Sixth Jatiya Sangsad was constituted on 19 March 1996. Thus on 21 March 1996 the Thirteenth Amendment bill was raised in the Sangsad, and on 26 March 1996 it was passed by 268-0 vote. With the passage of Thirteenth Amendment, Articles 58(B) (C) (D) (E) were included in the constitution which keep the following major provisions regarding caretaker government: (a) after the dissolution of the parliament there will be an 11-member non-party caretaker government headed by the Chief Adviser; (b) the caretaker government will be collectively responsible to the President; (c) the Chief Adviser will be appointed by the head of the state while other ten Advisers will be selected as per advice of the Chief Adviser; (d) the Chief Adviser will hold the status of Prime Minister while an Adviser will enjoy the status of a minister; (e) the non-party caretaker government will discharge its functions as an interim government and will carry on routine jobs, except in the case of necessity it will not make any policy decisions; (f) the caretaker government will assist the Election Commission to hold general polls impartially, fairly and peacefully; (g) this caretaker government will be dissolved on the date a new Prime Minister assumes his office. After formalising the measures for caretaker government and in the midst of massive opposition agitation, the controversial Sixth Jatiya Sangsad was dissolved on 30 March 1996. Subsequently a caretaker government was formed under the Thirteenth Amendment and the former Chief Justice; Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman took over the charge as the Chief Adviser. Four days later on 3 April 1996, ten distinguished personalities were sworn in as the Advisers of the caretaker government. The caretaker government successfully discharged its duty of holding the free and fair seventh constitutional parliamentary election on 12 June 1996, and continued in office till 23 June 1996, when the newly elected Awami League led by Sheikh Hasina formed the government. Caretaker government, 2001 Following the provision for caretaker government through Thirteen Amendment of the Constitution the third caretaker government was formed on 15 July 2001 and the former Chief Justice, Justice Latifur Rahman, took over charge as the Chief Adviser. After two days, ten Advisers of the caretaker government were sworn in. The caretaker government discharged its prime duty of holding the eighth parliamentary election on 1 October 2001, and continued in office till 10 October 2001 when the new elected BNP government led by Begum Khaleda Zia assumed state power. The neutral caretaker governments of Bangladesh had been the products of intense opposition movement centering on the forceful demand for free and fair general polls. By legalizing caretaker government through Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution in 1996, Bangladesh has founded a unique example in the existing parliamentary systems. Caretaker government, 2006 Rising of crisis The ninth parliamentary election, though fixed for January 22, 2007, was troubled from the beginning. Even before the elections dates were announced, the opposition parties were complaining of foul play in the election process. The controversy centered on the appointment of Chief Advisor of the Caretaker Government. The Caretaker government (CG) is a unique feature of Bangladesh’s democracy, inducted into the country’s Constitution by the 13th Amendment in March 1996. According to the Constitution, the non-partisan Caretaker Government will be formed within 15days of the desolation of the Parliament and the President “shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Chief Justices of Bangladesh retired last [Article 58 C]. If this was not possible the Constitution suggests “the Chief Justices of Bangladesh retired next before the last retired Chief Justice, or the retired Judges of the Appellate Division who retired last or the retired Judges of the Appellate Division retired next before the last such retired Judge” could be appointed as head of the Caretaker Government. If these options are not available or not feasible, the President “shall, after consultation, as far as practicable, with the major political parties, appoint the Chief Adviser from among citizens of Bangladesh.” As per Constitution, Justice KM Hasan, the last retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was to be the Chief Advisor of the caretaker government. But, opposition parties objected to Hasan’s candidature primarily due to his proximity with Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)—the Khaleda Zia government had increased the retirement age of Chief Justice from 65 to 67 by amending the Constitution in 2004 to allow Hasan to head the caretaker regime in the even of an election. Hasan quietly withdrew himself and became incommunicado. The opposition parties suggested few other names but with BNP refusing to accept any of the names, it was left to the Army to move in and occupy the political space. When the Khaleda Zia government completed its term in the midst of chaos and violence, President. Iajuddin Ahmed quickly stepped into the void and declared himself as the Chief Advisor overlooking all other options available in the Constitution. As per the Constitution, the President can become the Chief Adviser of a Non-Partisan Caretaker Government in addition to carrying out his own functions only when he has tried all other alternatives available besides the situation has to be exceptional. The Opposition welcomed the move with caution and hoped that Iajuddin would hold free and fair election. The trouble began soon after Iajuddin-led Caretaker Government took charge; Awami League went on a protest mode following the government’s refusal to rectify some of the partisan measures of the previous BNP government. The Opposition also accused the President of pursuing policies of the BNP government, instead of acting neutrally. The situation further deteriorated on the issue of the removal of Chief Election Commissioner who was accused of favoring BNP. The Opposition was really miffed when the election dates were announced and they intensified their protests, demanding immediate postponement of the elections. On January 7, the 18- party Opposition alliance led by Awami League (AL) decided to boycott the elections. This isolated BNP and undermined the legitimacy of the ninth parliamentary election. Large scale violence erupted across the country, forcing President Iajuddin to impose emergency on January 11 and resign from the post of Chief Advisor of the Caretaker government. Thus, a new chapter was added to Bangladesh’s tumultuous history on 1/11, as the event is popularly referred to. On January 12, 2007, Dr. Fakruddin Ahmed, renowned economist and former Bangladesh Bank Governor, was appointed as the Chief Advisor of the military-backed caretaker government. Although people were not overjoyed by the move, it brought a sense of relief from the continuing violence. Constitutional validity Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed’s government is the country’s second caretaker government since October 2006. This government enjoys the mandate of the Bangladesh Army. The main objective of the government as declared by Fakhuddin Ahmed (on January 11, 2008) is to hold free, fair and credible election. The Constitutional validity of the government, however, is questionable. As per Bangladesh’s Constitution, “a Caretaker Government should have been constituted within 15 days of the dissolution of the Jatiya Sangsad and should be in a position to hand over powers to a duly constituted pop ular government within 90 days after the dissolution of the previous parliament.” Hence, already, this government has completed the stipulated time limit that qualifies itself to be a caretaker government. However, observers of Bangladesh’s politics suggest that since the main objective of this government is to hold election, therefore, it can be called a caretaker government. This is one of the distinctive features of this government. Unlike previous such caretaker regimes, the present government’s administrative and development initiatives also show a determination to prevent the country from slipping another round of chaos and violence and to hold a credible and fair election. Politics Politics in Bangladesh remained tightly under the leash of the military -backed caretaker government. Political parties and the caretaker government remained at logger heads on various issues. The government was accused of adopting a vindictive attitude towards the parties which, they argued, would be detrimental for the restoration of democracy in the country. There were quite a few reasons for the parties to feel that way. The government had banned all political activities, forcing the political parties to the sidelines. The government also attempted to neutralize the power of two major parties, AL and BNP, by declaring a policy which it called the ‘Minus Two Formula’, which meant sending AL chief, Sheikh Hasina and BNP chief Khaleda Zia on exile. This move however failed after Khaleda refused to leave the country. Though Hasina had left the country, she managed to force her way back. The government, however, did not give up its determination to neutralize the two parties and ordered the arrest of Hasina and Khaleda in June and September 2007 respectively on charges of corruption. The government also came under criticism for pushing for reforms in the political parties. This raised heckles in the political circles which questioned the government’s authority to call for such actions. Though Awami League remained united against any such move, there were differences within BNP over the issue. The government supported the rebel group and encouraged it to split. Economic Situation The economy fared badly during those years. Inflation crossed more than 11%. A declining trend was noticed almost in all sectors of the economy, such as industrial investment, volume of agricultural product and exports. No fresh job opportunities were created and the prices skyrocketed. The industry blamed the government for the down spiral; they said it was caused by the prevailing sense of uncertainty and the government’s crackdown on corruption. The government also came in for criticism for its failure to control the prices which affected the common man the most. Inflation could become a major issue in the elections. Role of Military The government remained in the shadow of the Army Though the caretaker government was at pains to give the impressive on that it remained free of the Army, it was Army Chief Moeen U Ahmed who is ultimately calling the shots, Chief Advisor Fakhruddin remained a puppet of the Army. The Army Chief had become the most visible face in the country’s newspaper and his photographs were regularly published! His comments on several non-military issues “What should the nature of democracy in the country? How should economy be working? How and when the emergency to be lifted?” got equal or more importance than that of Chief Advisor’s. Many ex-Service officials were given important positions in the government. The military also involved itself in issues like sale of food items to the poor, organizing voters’ registration and coordination of relief after the devastation of cyclone i n last November. In fact, Army’s dominance in the present government has raised concern about the prospect of democracy in the country. The government was heavily criticized for sending intelligence officials to the house of the professors who were arrested in August 2007. Though the Army Chief had declared that he was not keen on grabbing power, it has been met widespread skepticism. People fear that the Army might just stay back in the saddle and delay the restoration of democracy. External relations The caretaker government enjoyed support and recognition from major powers. In fact, envoys of the United States and Great Britain played influential role in 1/11. However, no major policy change was noticed in the last one year. It received generous support and aids from the international community to deal with two floods and a cyclone in November that devastated the country. There were other significant events which impacted the country’s external relations- arrival of the US Marine to help Bangladesh to carry out relief and rescue operations after the Sidr, Cyclone in November 2007, Bangladesh’s Foreign Affair Advisor, Iftekhar Ahmed’s visit to Russia, primarily to seek help in setting up a nuclear power plant, and irritants in the relations with Malaysia over the migrant labor issue. External Affairs Minister of India Pranab Mukherjee visited Bangladesh in February 2007 and Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed reciprocated by visiting India in April 2007—but there no progress in resolving the bilateral issues; such as sharing of river water, border management, border skirmishes between India’s Border Security Force (BSF) and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), migration, transit issue etc. In spite of several round of meetings at various levels— Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary included -- Dhaka-Kolkata railway link still waiting to be inauguration. Despite this government’s declaration that it would not allow anti India activities inside the country, still no action has been taken against such functionaries. Road to the Democracy On 5 April 2007, the county's chief election official declared that the elections would need to be pushed back at least eighteen months. On 12 April, Ahmed announced in a televised speech to the nation that the next parliamentary election would be held before the end of 2008. On 15 July 2007, Bangladesh Election Commission published a road map for the election, promising a compilation of voter lists by October 2008 and an official election call before the end of that year. The constitution of Bangladesh, however, provides holding election within 120 days of the formation of a caretaker government. After the election, the Jatiyo Sangshad will have to elect the next President of Bangladesh. The presidential election should have taken place by 5 September 2007 when Iajuddin Ahmed's term expired. But the election was postponed as the Constitution of Bangladesh permits to delay the presidential election until a new Jatiyo Sangshad is formed. On 9 September 2007, President Ahmed addressed the nation and recalled indoor politics with strict conditions to facilitate preparation for the election and reaffirmed his commitment to hold the election on time or earlier. In early October, the Chief Election Commissioner stated elections could be held by October 2008 if the electoral roll could be compiled by July 2008. Talks between the government and two smaller parties started on 22 May 2008, with the government indicating it would hold talks with all parties in short time. However, both the Awami League and the BNP declined to attend these talks as long as their leaders were still detained. Voters’ lists were announced to be ready on 22 July 2008. On 4 August 2008, mayor and city council elections were held in Sylhet, Khulna, Barisal and Rajshahi cities. BBC News reported that the candidates supported by the Awami League won twelve of the thirteen city corporations and municipalities voting, according to election commission officials. Finally, Chief Adviser Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed announced on 21 September that the general election would be held on 18 December. The BNP called for a delay of the election until January 2009, while the Awami League was against such a delay. As a compromise, the election was postponed from 18 December to 29 December. In a response to the demand of the major political parties, on 17 December 2008, the two-year-long state of emergency was lifted. General election was held on 29 December 2008. The two main parties in the election were the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Khaleda Zia, and the Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina. The Awami League formed a fourteen-party grand alliance including Ershad's Jatiya Party, while the BNP formed a four-party alliance which included the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami. The election resulted in a landslide victory for the Awami League-led grand alliance, which bagged 263 seats out 300. The main rival four-party alliance received only 32 seats, with the remaining four going to independent candidates. Polling in the constituency of Noakhali-1 was postponed due to the mysterious death of the AL candidate. The election for the seat was held on 12 January 2009 instead and was won by the BNP candidate. The Debate Rise Again Bangladesh Supreme Court Scraps Caretaker Government System The Bangladesh Supreme Court declared illegal the constitutional provision for a caretaker government taking office three months before a general election and organizing the poll. It, however, said the tenth and eleventh parliamentary elections may be held under the caretaker government ‘in order to avoid any chaos’. The country currently has its ninth parliament that was elected in December 2008. The next poll is due in December 2013. The court observed that the parliament could take steps to amend the law under which the chief justice or any other judges of the Appellate Division are not involved in the government. The seven-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice A.B.M. Khairul Haque passed the judgment. Version of Government Side The policymakers of the government believe that there is no scope to maintain the caretaker government system in the country without bringing an amendment to the constitution as the 13th Amendment has been scrapped in a recent verdict of majority judges of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court under the leadership of the just retired Chief Justice A.B.M. Khairul Hauqe. The court has opined for holding the next two general elections under the caretaker government, but the observation is not a part of the order. There is no obstruction to abolishing the caretaker government system from the constitution as the review verdict of the Supreme Court has made the 13th Amendment null and void. With this in view, the special parliamentary committee on constitutional amendment has already begun dialog on the matter. Most members of the committee have opined for abolishing the system. The government policymakers at this moment want cooperation from the opposition party in abolishing the caretaker government system from the constitution. In the primary discussions most of the special committee members expressed the view that the government should abolish this provision from the constitution if the opposition party does not agree to accept the next caretaker government chief as per the desire of the ruling party. In this regard, their main argument will be that they have only complied to the court order. As a debate is on about the CTG system, the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on May 31 said, “It is not my personal observation or thought. It is the judgment of the highest court, which we must comply with. I personally have nothing to do in this regard.” No Election without Caretaker Government Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) has said the Supreme Court verdict annulling the 13th amendment apparently reflects the government's views. BNP believes the apex court should not involve itself in such national issues. BNP and its allies have called for countywide dawn to dusk hartal on June 5 to protest the government move to scrap the system of caretaker government (CTG) embodied in the Constitution. The announcement for hartal came a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said there is no scope to retain the CTG system since the Supreme Court declared it illegal. Announcing the hartal at a press conference on June 1, BNP’s acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said “they would launch a vigorous movement to undo the government decision. No election in the past under AL government was fair and neutral, and would not be in future. No national election under the AL government will be acceptable.” Amendment in Budget Session The budget session of parliament began on 22 May. There is a possibility of bringing necessary amendments to the constitution in this long session of the house. Meanwhile, opinions were collected from various citizen forums for the amendments. A coordinated amendment proposal will be placed in parliament combining the opinions and verdict of the Supreme Court. Conclusion Bangladesh is going to observe its 40th independence anniversary in December, 2011. We have already exceeded 4 decades of independence but in many segments we have not yet achieved our expected standard i. e. Political, social, economic, technological, or any other aspects, especially in Political arena we are still facing chronic instability. On the eve of 40th independence anniversary the question is raised that how much we have achieved political stability and how much is developed our political culture. The answer is obviously dissatisfactory. In Bangladesh’s long age it has already experienced thousand types of political violence, instability, political conflicts, mistrust and misunderstanding among the political parties and groups which are still on. This is called the parochial political culture. The Non-Party Caretaker Government (NCG) is the outcome of this hidebound and parochial political culture. This system can continue for a critical and temporary moment but not forever. Now reformation can be done in the present system. Gradually this system can be knocked down. The time has come to rethink the interim government system, and all those involved in the electoral process should debate the issue and therefore reach a national consensus. In politics, a caretaker government rules temporarily. A caretaker government is often set up following a war until stable democratic rule can be restored, or installed, in which case it is often referred to as a provisional government. In some countries (including Australia and New Zealand) the term is used to describe the government that operates in the interim period between the normal dissolution of parliament for the purpose of holding an election and the formation of a new government after the election results are known. Caretaker governments may also be put in place when a government in a parliamentary system is defeated in a motion of no confidence, or in the case when the house to which the government is responsible is dissolved, to rule the country for an interim period until an election is held and a new government is formed. This type of caretaker government is adopted in Bangladesh where an advisor council led by the former chief judge rules the country for three months before an elected government takes over. In systems where coalition governments are frequent a caretaker government may be installed temporarily while negotiations to form a new coalition take place. This usually occurs either immediately after an election in which there is no clear victor or if one coalition government collapses and a new one must be negotiated. Caretaker governments are expected to handle daily issues and prepare budgets for discussion, but are not expected to produce a government platform or introduce controversial bills. Non-party Caretaker Government One of the more interesting constitutional innovations of recent times is the Bangladeshi Non-party caretaker government. This is covered in chapter IIA of the Bangladesh Constitution. Bangladesh is a parliamentary system with a largely ceremonial President who is appointed by the Parliament. The Executive is embedded is the Legislative, similar to the Australian Westminster style systems. In Australia the caretaker convention is that the Government does not do anything odd, unusual, or out of the ordinary during an election period in relation to governance. In most of these convention instances they remain valid only as long as someone doesn't break them. For instance the convention prior to 1975 in Australian Federal parliament was that the States would appoint a Senator of the same party as an outgoing one. This did not happen twice in the run up to the Dismissal and soon after a constitutional amendment came down forcing this behavior. Presumably, a Bangladeshi government did not honor the caretaker convention, and the Bangladeshis, unwilling to trust any party machine with the caretaker convention, took over the running of government themselves during this period. The Non-party Caretaker Government is headed by a Chief Advisor who adopts the role of Prime Minister and advises the President as head of the Executive. The Chief Advisor and up to ten other non-party advisors comprise a citizens executive cabinet and are appointed by the President. The Chief Advisor is the last retired Chief Justice. The other advisors cannot be members of parliament, cannot be running for election, cannot be members of a party and must be under seventy-two years of age. This mixes community specialists with a judicial specialist. The constitution grants the Chief Advisor and Advisors the remuneration and status of the Prime Minister and Ministers respectively during this period. Like the caretaker conventions in Australia which implies no policy decisions will be made by an interim government, the Bangladesh constitution entrenches this requirement and the Non-party Caretaker Government is excluded from making policy. From the Constitution; The caretaker concept is contained in the 13th amendment to the constitution. 58B. Non-Party Care-taker Government (1) There shall be a Non-Party Care-taker Government during the period from the date on which the Chief Adviser of such government enters upon office after Parliament is dissolved or stands dissolved by reason of expiration of its term till the date on which a new Prime Minister enters upon his office after the constitution of Parliament. (2) The Non-Party Care-taker Government shall be collectively responsible to the President. (3) The executive power of the Republic shall, during the period mentioned in clause (1), be exercised, subject to the provisions of article 58D(1), in accordance with this Constitution, by or on the authority of the Chief Adviser and shall be exercised by him in accordance with the advice of the Non-Party Care-taker Government. (4) The provisions of article 55(4), (5) and (6) shall (with the necessary adaptations) apply to similar matters during the period mentioned in clause (1). 58C. Composition of the Non-Party Care-taker Government, appointment of Advisers, etc. (1) Non-Party Care-taker Government shall consist of the Chief Adviser at its head and not more than ten other Advisors, all of whom shall be appointed by the President. (2) The Chief Adviser and other Advisers shall be appointed within fifteen days after Parliament is dissolved or stands dissolved, and during the period between the date on which Parliament is dissolved or stands dissolved and the date on which the Chief Adviser is appointed, the Prime Minister and his cabinet who were in office immediately before Parliament was dissolved or stood dissolved shall continue to hold office as such. (3) The President shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Chief Justices of Bangladesh retired last and who is qualified to be appointed as an Adviser under this article: Provided that if such retired Chief Justice is not available or is not willing to hold the office of Chief Adviser, the President shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Chief Justices of Bangladesh retired next before the last retired Chief Justice. (4) If no retired Chief Justice is available or willing to hold the office of Chief Advise, the President shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Judges of the Appellate Division retired last and who is qualified to be appointed as an Adviser under this article: Provided that if such retired Judge is not available or is not willing to hold the office of Chief Adviser, the President shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Judges of the Appellate Division retired next before the last such retired Judge. (5) If no retired judge of the Appellate Division is available or willing to hold the office of Chief Adviser, the President shall, after consultation, as far as practicable, with the major political parties, appoint the Chief Adviser from among citizens of Bangladesh who are qualified to be appointed as Advisers under this article. (6) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Chapter, if the provisions of clauses (3), (4) and (5) cannot be given effect to, the President shall assume the functions of the Chief Adviser of the Non-Party Care-taker Government in addition to his own functions under this Constitution. (7) The President shall appoint Advisers from among the persons who are- 1. qualified for election as members of parliament; 2. not members of any political party or of any organisation associated with or affiliated to any political party; 3. not, and have agreed in writing not to be, candidates for the ensuing election of members of parliament; 4. not over seventy-two years of age. (8) The Advisers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Chief Adviser. (9) The Chief Adviser or an Adviser may resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the President. (10) The Chief Adviser or an Adviser shall cease to be Chief Adviser or Adviser if he is disqualified to be appointed as such under this article. (11) The Chief Adviser shall have the status, and shall be entitled to the remuneration and privileges, of a Prime Minister and an Adviser shall have the status, and shall be entitled to the remuneration and privileges, of a Minister. (12) The Non-Party Care-taker Government shall stand dissolved on the date on which the prime Minister enters upon his office after the constitution of new parliament. 58D. Functions of Non-Party Care-taker Government (1) The Non-Party Care-taker Government shall discharge its functions as an interim government and shall carry on the routine functions of such government with the aid and assistance of persons in the services of the Republic; and, except in the case of necessity for the discharge of such functions its shall not make any policy decision. (2) The Non-Party Care-taker Government shall give to the Election Commission all possible aid and assistance that may be required for bolding the general election of members of parliament peacefully, fairly and impartially. 58E. Certain provisions of the Constitution to remain ineffective Notwithstanding anything contained in articles 48(3), 141A(1) and 141C(1) of the Constitution, during the period the Non-Party Care-taker government is functioning, provisions in the constitution requiring the President to act on the advice of the Prime Minister or upon his prior counter-signature shall be ineffective. Caretaker Government; Back to the Past In the parlance of institutional government, a caretaker government is one which normally takes care of state administration for an interim period until the regular new government is formed. In established parliamentary system, there is a convention of transformation of the outgoing government into a caretaker government for the time being before the holding of general election. Such temporary government exists only to perform day to day administrative jobs, and is not supposed to deal with policy initiating functions which may influence the election results. During the period the caretaker government maintains neutral status for ensuring free and fair general elections. In the parliamentary framework, after the dissolution of one ministry, the practice of establishing caretaker government for organizing general polls has been observed in all democratic countries. Caretaker government, 1990 In Bangladesh the demand for neutral caretaker government largely originated from a lack of general agreement among the competing parties to maintain legitimate means of changing government and uphold unbiased election system. During the pre-independence days, the elections of 1954 and 1970 were widely acclaimed as fair polls having significant impact on the people's movements which ultimately led to the emergence of sovereign Bangladesh in 1971. In the period since independence, there was, however, a gradual public alienation from the election process owing to alleged electoral malpractices. As such, election results were always a foregone conclusion rendering no positive effects on the political process. The crisis of people's confidence in the stage-managed election system reached its peak during the rule of General H.M. Ershad. Restoration of democracy through fair polls was ultimately transformed into a united anti-Ershad movement by the combined opposition parties with a forceful demand for a neutral caretaker government. Opposition formula for the formation of neutral caretaker government was categorically mentioned in the 1990 Joint Declaration of the Three (political) Party Alliances. The Declaration specified inter alia that the political alliances would participate in the elections only when conducted by a neutral non-partisan caretaker government; but before that Ershad government would have to be forced to resign and an interim caretaker government would be formed; thereafter, election commission would be reconstituted by the caretaker government to hold free and fair election. In the face of the anti-government public outburst and mass upsurge, General Ershad had to yield to the movement. As such the framework for the formation of caretaker government advanced when the Joint Declaration was translated into reality on 6 December 1990 through the handing over state power to the nominee of the combined opposition Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, the Chief Justice of Bangladesh. Earlier, the then Vice President Moudud Ahmed resigned and Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed was installed as the Vice President. Then General Ershad stepped down from the presidency giving his charge to the Chief Justice emerging as the country's Acting President and head of the neutral caretaker government. Subsequently, 17 Advisers of the caretaker government were appointed. It may be mentioned that the neutral caretaker government of 1990 was constituted without any prior constitutional amendments. It was understandable that there was indeed a difficulty in convening the existing national parliament owing to shortage of time. The caretaker government of Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, however, had the basis of support from the general people and parties and thus the legality of its activities was never questioned. All measures taken by the caretaker government were thus subsequently ratified in 1991 by the popularly elected Fifth Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament). Caretaker government, 1996 In 1990 the demand for caretaker government was raised by the mainstream opposition political parties with the immediate objective of removing Ershad government from power and restoring democracy through fair polls. Thus any future necessity for such caretaker administration during elections was not considered by the Joint Declaration of the opposition. Although there was a proposal from the left parties for conducting subsequent three elections under a caretaker government, this was not supported by the two major parties, Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). In 1991, the restoration of parliamentary system on the basis of consensus marked a positive development. But soon disagreements on major national issues, mutual intolerance and lack of trust among the competing parties confirmed that the issue of caretaker government became the central theme of Bangladesh politics only two years after the reintroduction of parliamentary democracy. The opposition through sustained boycott of the Sangsad and frequent hartals tried to force the ruling party to accept their demand. At the initial phase of their movement, opposition parties did not have unanimity with regard to the framework of the proposed caretaker government. This was visualised by three separate bills submitted by the Jamaat-E-Islami, Awami League and Jatiya Party to the parliamentary secretariat in 1991, October 1993 and mid November 1993 respectively. The essence of these bills was more or less similar, but differed on selection of the head of the caretaker government. While Awami League was in favour of appointing the Chief Justice as the head of the interim government, Jatiya Party proposed for selecting a neutral person as the head of the caretaker government, and Jamaat-e-Islami demanded for forming an advisory council headed by a neutral person to be appointed by the President. These bills, however, were not placed in the Jatiya Sangsad because of opposition boycott of the Sangsad and government's reluctance to consider the case. This made the three major opposition parties to come closer and materialise their caretaker demand through agitation and hartals. To press the ruling party, they went to the extent of submitting en masse resignation of 147 opposition parliamentarian on 28 December 1994. In the face of continuous agitation of the combined opposition, the Fifth Sangsad was dissolved and preparations were underway for forming the Sixth Sangsad to enact constitutional amendment for caretaker government. Having failed to convince the mainstream opposition, the ruling BNP moved unilaterally to legalise the caretaker government after the Sixth Jatiya Sangsad was constituted on 19 March 1996. Thus on 21 March 1996 the Thirteenth Amendment bill was raised in the Sangsad, and on 26 March 1996 it was passed by 268-0 vote. With the passage of Thirteenth Amendment, Articles 58(B) (C) (D) (E) were included in the constitution which keep the following major provisions regarding caretaker government: (a) after the dissolution of the parliament there will be an 11-member non-party caretaker government headed by the Chief Adviser; (b) the caretaker government will be collectively responsible to the President; (c) the Chief Adviser will be appointed by the head of the state while other ten Advisers will be selected as per advice of the Chief Adviser; (d) the Chief Adviser will hold the status of Prime Minister while an Adviser will enjoy the status of a minister; (e) the non-party caretaker government will discharge its functions as an interim government and will carry on routine jobs, except in the case of necessity it will not make any policy decisions; (f) the caretaker government will assist the Election Commission to hold general polls impartially, fairly and peacefully; (g) this caretaker government will be dissolved on the date a new Prime Minister assumes his office. After formalising the measures for caretaker government and in the midst of massive opposition agitation, the controversial Sixth Jatiya Sangsad was dissolved on 30 March 1996. Subsequently a caretaker government was formed under the Thirteenth Amendment and the former Chief Justice; Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman took over the charge as the Chief Adviser. Four days later on 3 April 1996, ten distinguished personalities were sworn in as the Advisers of the caretaker government. The caretaker government successfully discharged its duty of holding the free and fair seventh constitutional parliamentary election on 12 June 1996, and continued in office till 23 June 1996, when the newly elected Awami League led by Sheikh Hasina formed the government. Caretaker government, 2001 Following the provision for caretaker government through Thirteen Amendment of the Constitution the third caretaker government was formed on 15 July 2001 and the former Chief Justice, Justice Latifur Rahman, took over charge as the Chief Adviser. After two days, ten Advisers of the caretaker government were sworn in. The caretaker government discharged its prime duty of holding the eighth parliamentary election on 1 October 2001, and continued in office till 10 October 2001 when the new elected BNP government led by Begum Khaleda Zia assumed state power. The neutral caretaker governments of Bangladesh had been the products of intense opposition movement centering on the forceful demand for free and fair general polls. By legalizing caretaker government through Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution in 1996, Bangladesh has founded a unique example in the existing parliamentary systems. Caretaker government, 2006 Rising of crisis The ninth parliamentary election, though fixed for January 22, 2007, was troubled from the beginning. Even before the elections dates were announced, the opposition parties were complaining of foul play in the election process. The controversy centered on the appointment of Chief Advisor of the Caretaker Government. The Caretaker government (CG) is a unique feature of Bangladesh’s democracy, inducted into the country’s Constitution by the 13th Amendment in March 1996. According to the Constitution, the non-partisan Caretaker Government will be formed within 15days of the desolation of the Parliament and the President “shall appoint as Chief Adviser the person who among the retired Chief Justices of Bangladesh retired last [Article 58 C]. If this was not possible the Constitution suggests “the Chief Justices of Bangladesh retired next before the last retired Chief Justice, or the retired Judges of the Appellate Division who retired last or the retired Judges of the Appellate Division retired next before the last such retired Judge” could be appointed as head of the Caretaker Government. If these options are not available or not feasible, the President “shall, after consultation, as far as practicable, with the major political parties, appoint the Chief Adviser from among citizens of Bangladesh.” As per Constitution, Justice KM Hasan, the last retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was to be the Chief Advisor of the caretaker government. But, opposition parties objected to Hasan’s candidature primarily due to his proximity with Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)—the Khaleda Zia government had increased the retirement age of Chief Justice from 65 to 67 by amending the Constitution in 2004 to allow Hasan to head the caretaker regime in the even of an election. Hasan quietly withdrew himself and became incommunicado. The opposition parties suggested few other names but with BNP refusing to accept any of the names, it was left to the Army to move in and occupy the political space. When the Khaleda Zia government completed its term in the midst of chaos and violence, President. Iajuddin Ahmed quickly stepped into the void and declared himself as the Chief Advisor overlooking all other options available in the Constitution. As per the Constitution, the President can become the Chief Adviser of a Non-Partisan Caretaker Government in addition to carrying out his own functions only when he has tried all other alternatives available besides the situation has to be exceptional. The Opposition welcomed the move with caution and hoped that Iajuddin would hold free and fair election. The trouble began soon after Iajuddin-led Caretaker Government took charge; Awami League went on a protest mode following the government’s refusal to rectify some of the partisan measures of the previous BNP government. The Opposition also accused the President of pursuing policies of the BNP government, instead of acting neutrally. The situation further deteriorated on the issue of the removal of Chief Election Commissioner who was accused of favoring BNP. The Opposition was really miffed when the election dates were announced and they intensified their protests, demanding immediate postponement of the elections. On January 7, the 18- party Opposition alliance led by Awami League (AL) decided to boycott the elections. This isolated BNP and undermined the legitimacy of the ninth parliamentary election. Large scale violence erupted across the country, forcing President Iajuddin to impose emergency on January 11 and resign from the post of Chief Advisor of the Caretaker government. Thus, a new chapter was added to Bangladesh’s tumultuous history on 1/11, as the event is popularly referred to. On January 12, 2007, Dr. Fakruddin Ahmed, renowned economist and former Bangladesh Bank Governor, was appointed as the Chief Advisor of the military-backed caretaker government. Although people were not overjoyed by the move, it brought a sense of relief from the continuing violence. Constitutional validity Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed’s government is the country’s second caretaker government since October 2006. This government enjoys the mandate of the Bangladesh Army. The main objective of the government as declared by Fakhuddin Ahmed (on January 11, 2008) is to hold free, fair and credible election. The Constitutional validity of the government, however, is questionable. As per Bangladesh’s Constitution, “a Caretaker Government should have been constituted within 15 days of the dissolution of the Jatiya Sangsad and should be in a position to hand over powers to a duly constituted pop ular government within 90 days after the dissolution of the previous parliament.” Hence, already, this government has completed the stipulated time limit that qualifies itself to be a caretaker government. However, observers of Bangladesh’s politics suggest that since the main objective of this government is to hold election, therefore, it can be called a caretaker government. This is one of the distinctive features of this government. Unlike previous such caretaker regimes, the present government’s administrative and development initiatives also show a determination to prevent the country from slipping another round of chaos and violence and to hold a credible and fair election. Politics Politics in Bangladesh remained tightly under the leash of the military -backed caretaker government. Political parties and the caretaker government remained at logger heads on various issues. The government was accused of adopting a vindictive attitude towards the parties which, they argued, would be detrimental for the restoration of democracy in the country. There were quite a few reasons for the parties to feel that way. The government had banned all political activities, forcing the political parties to the sidelines. The government also attempted to neutralize the power of two major parties, AL and BNP, by declaring a policy which it called the ‘Minus Two Formula’, which meant sending AL chief, Sheikh Hasina and BNP chief Khaleda Zia on exile. This move however failed after Khaleda refused to leave the country. Though Hasina had left the country, she managed to force her way back. The government, however, did not give up its determination to neutralize the two parties and ordered the arrest of Hasina and Khaleda in June and September 2007 respectively on charges of corruption. The government also came under criticism for pushing for reforms in the political parties. This raised heckles in the political circles which questioned the government’s authority to call for such actions. Though Awami League remained united against any such move, there were differences within BNP over the issue. The government supported the rebel group and encouraged it to split. Economic Situation The economy fared badly during those years. Inflation crossed more than 11%. A declining trend was noticed almost in all sectors of the economy, such as industrial investment, volume of agricultural product and exports. No fresh job opportunities were created and the prices skyrocketed. The industry blamed the government for the down spiral; they said it was caused by the prevailing sense of uncertainty and the government’s crackdown on corruption. The government also came in for criticism for its failure to control the prices which affected the common man the most. Inflation could become a major issue in the elections. Role of Military The government remained in the shadow of the Army Though the caretaker government was at pains to give the impressive on that it remained free of the Army, it was Army Chief Moeen U Ahmed who is ultimately calling the shots, Chief Advisor Fakhruddin remained a puppet of the Army. The Army Chief had become the most visible face in the country’s newspaper and his photographs were regularly published! His comments on several non-military issues