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DHAKA: Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has reiterated his firm position on restoring the neutral caretaker government system for national elections, saying there is no alternative to bringing it back.
However, no final decision has been made on how the caretaker government would be formed, what powers and responsibilities it would have, or how long it would remain in office.
Salahuddin, who chairs the special parliamentary committee on constitutional amendments, made the remarks at a media briefing at the parliament’s media centre on Wednesday following a meeting of the committee at the Cabinet Room of the Jatiya Sangsad.
The meeting discussed the restoration of the caretaker government system, proposed amendments to various constitutional provisions and different aspects of the July Charter put forward by political parties. Committee members also heard accounts from family members of victims of enforced disappearances.
On restoring the caretaker government system, Salahuddin said the committee was examining in detail the process of forming the interim administration, its specific powers and responsibilities, and the timeframe for its formation after the dissolution of parliament.
He said various possible mechanisms were being assessed to prevent fresh political disputes over the formation of governments in future.
Proposals under discussion include involving a search body or the Election Commission in selecting members of the caretaker government. However, the committee has yet to reach a final decision on which mechanism to adopt, he said.
Salahuddin said all proposals would be reviewed before an amendment bill was placed before parliament, where further discussion and debate could lead to additional proposals.
The objective is to establish a framework for forming the election-time government that would minimise the scope for political disputes in the future, he added.
The committee is also reviewing constitutional reform proposals included in the July Charter, which political parties have put forward. Salahuddin said efforts were under way to reach decisions on the proposals through consensus.
The meeting also discussed the ranked-choice voting system. However, the committee recorded a note of dissent on the proposal, with members expressing the view that such an important issue should be discussed extensively in parliament before a final decision is taken.
Salahuddin said any new proposal that emerged through discussion and review and gained national acceptance would also be considered.
He said the committee had received a substantial number of proposals on constitutional amendments from civil society representatives, legal experts, senior lawyers, representatives of the Supreme Court Bar Association, university teachers and newspaper editors.
The proposals would be consolidated and reviewed in stages at subsequent meetings. As the assessment process was still under way, the committee had not reached any final conclusions, he added.
At the meeting, lawmakers and family members of victims of enforced disappearances, including Sanjida Islam, Humam Quader Chowdhury, Anisur Rahman and Mst Tahsina Rushdi, shared their experiences.
They recounted alleged torture by law enforcement agencies, prolonged denial of legal protection and deprivation of justice. They stressed the need to incorporate effective preventive measures and stronger safeguards into the Constitution to prevent such incidents from recurring.
Salahuddin reiterated at the briefing that although the committee had adopted a policy position in favour of restoring the caretaker government system, its structure and implementation process remained undecided. Discussions were continuing on the timeframe for forming the government, its powers and responsibilities, and the procedure for selecting neutral members.
The committee aims to develop a framework acceptable to all sides and avoid future political disputes over the election-time government, he said.
Senior officials from the Parliament Secretariat and the ministries of law and justice, among other relevant departments, attended the meeting.
