Caretaker government of Bangladesh

The Caretaker Government of Bangladesh (Template:Lang-bn) is a form of government system in which the country is ruled by a selected government for an interim period during transition from one government to another, after the completion tenure of the former. As the outgoing government hands over their power, the caretaker government comes into place. Members of the caretaker government do not belong to any political party; nor are they allowed to contest the elections. The main objective of the caretaker government is to create an environment in which an election can be held in a free and fair manner without any political influence of the outgoing government. It is not empowered to take any policy decisions unless it is necessary. The head of the Caretaker government is called the Chief Adviser and is selected by the President, and the Chief Adviser selects the other advisers. The administration is generally distributed between the advisers. The Chief Adviser and the other advisers are committed for their activities to the President.

History

A caretaker government was first introduced in 1990 when three party alliances jointly made a demand for it. After the forced resignation of General Ershad, the three alliances nominated Chief Justice Shahbuddin Ahmed as the Chief Advisor. A Caretaker government is headed by a Chief Adviser who enjoys the same power as the regular prime minister of the country except defense matters. The Advisors function as Ministers. Since 1996, the Caretaker government has held the elections of 1996, 2001 and 2008. Although the first caretaker government was intended to help the transition from authoritarianism to democracy, this system was constitutionalized in 1996 by the Sixth Parliament dominated by Bangladesh Nationalist Party, yielding to boycotting opposition pressure.

There were Caretaker Government in 1991 with understanding with ploitical parties and constitutionally in 1996, 2001 and 2006. However an extra-constitutional military backed Caretaker Government (CTG) was installed in 2007 which governed Bangladesh without legitimacy and handed over to elected political party following 29 December 2008 parliamentary election. According to the provision (now amended)of CTG in the Bangladesh Constitution, there were 6 options to appoint Chief Advisor (CA) of CTG. Last option is the President. CTG had to hold election within 90 days and in 120 days power could be handed over to elected political party. Day to day affair or routine duty and holding parliamentary election are mandated responsibility of CTG. The military backed CTG was formed without constitutional provision, C A was appointed violating provision of constitution, performed all responsibilities of regular elected government and lasted for 2 years. Army chief used to attend the advisory council meetings and pressured cabinet to take decision as he wanted. Advisor to the President Mukhlesur Rahman Chowdhury was ousted as he was against army move and President Iajuddin Ahmed had to run presidency at the gun point. Lt. Gen. Moeen upgraded army chief's rank to General and to maintain balance also other two forces chiefs accordingly. Moeen also made his one year extension without lawful authority in absence of regular elected government. Senior Advisor and Minister of State Mukhles Chowdhury tried utmost and solved political problem and brought rival political parties to planned parliamentary elections of 22 January 2002. However by cancelling H M Ershad's nomination Moeen staged a military coup on 11 January 2007.

2008 Election

The national election of Bangladesh was held on 29 December 2008 under the Caretaker government formed with Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed as the Chief Adviser on 13 January 2007. This was the third Caretaker government formed after the tenure of the government of prime minister Khaleda Zia ended in October 2006. The Caretaker government of Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed functioned without legislative authority as it continued to function after its scheduled tenure of 120 days ended on 12 May 2007. All decisions taken after this date must be ratified by the parliament for the sake of legitimacy.

The Caretaker government of Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed was a military controlled and has made extensive use of the military to stymie the chaos that preceded the 11th of January, 2007 (popularly known as 1/11, like 9/11). From the very outset however, the government made it clear that they were there not only arrange a free and fair election, but also to make sure that all aspects that are connected to it are reviewed properly. This meant major reforms in the election system, but also making sure that corrupt candidates could not take part in the election.

The task was however an enormous one, since Bangladesh is regarded as one of the most corrupt nations in the world. Therefore, the government had exceeded its mandated term, which according to the constitution allows it to stay only for 90 days.

Reforms

There has been a major change in the election system as the caretaker government has introduced Voter ID cards (with photograph) for the first time. The Bangladesh Army including members of other military forces were deployed throughout the nation including the remotest areas. They were equipped with laptops, and small digital cameras in an effort that would result in the most orderly voter's list in Bangladesh's history.

Reactions

Initial reactions of the public were welcoming. The arrests of corrupt prominent politicians led many to believe that a new political age was imminent. However, no new major parties came into the scene, and now the work of the anti-corruption unit is coming undone as many of the politicians are being released from prison. This has also ended prospects for reform within the major parties since the old leaders have returned to their former positions, and positively gotten rid of reformers.

People who had opposed the government's prolonged stay have mostly been members of the two major parties. Members of the public in general understood the reasons and necessity for the government' actions.

The television media has reported events throughout the term in a mostly robotic manner. There has been little questioning of the leaders who have been incriminated with an array of corruption charges, and who are now on the verge of returning to power. Almost all of the nation's television channels are owned by members from one of the two major parties.

Chief Advisers since 1991

• Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed - Election of 1991
• Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman - Election of 1996
• Justice Latifur Rahman - Election of 2001
• Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed - Resigned on 11/January/2007
• Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed - Appointed 11/January/2007 - Election of 2008

See also

• Caretaker Government
• Chief Justice of Bangladesh

External links

• List of advisers and portfolios from http://www.bangladesh.gov.bd
• Caretaker Government on Banglapedia
• Khairul Haque made CJ [1]