Published : 30 Jul 2025, 03:09 AM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 01:35 PM
The National Citizen Party (NCP) has warned of long-term uncertainty if the caretaker government system issue is not resolved within the ongoing consensus talks.
On Tuesday, NCP Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain said the transfer of power remains “one of the most serious unresolved crises in Bangladesh’s politics”.
He was speaking at the National Consensus Commission meeting with political parties held at the Foreign Service Academy.
Akhtar pointed out that political parties had earlier reached agreement on a caretaker government formula under which several elections were held.
But after Sheikh Hasina came to power, he said, the judiciary was used to remove the caretaker provision from the Constitution.
According to him, while parties within the commission are now in favour of restoring the caretaker system, there remains disagreement over its structure.
The NCP, he said, no longer supports the 13th Amendment’s clause that made it mandatory to appoint former chief justices as the chief advisor of the caretaker government.
Under the new proposal, the chief advisor will be selected through a selection committee composed of the prime minister, the leader of the opposition, the speaker, the deputy speaker, and a representative from the third largest party in parliament.
If consensus is not reached, a “ranked choice voting” process will be used involving these five members alongside two judges, one each from the Supreme Court and the High Court divisions.
These judges will only vote and cannot nominate candidates.
Akhtar described this method as “more effective” than sending the matter directly to parliament, where reaching a decision could prove difficult.
He also referred to the BNP’s suggestion that if the selection committee fails to agree, the issue could then be passed to parliament.
“The caretaker government issue is so important that it should be fully resolved within this forum,” he said.
Speaking on the July Charter, Akhtar said: “It’s still in draft form, and we are reviewing it internally. We want to see every point of fundamental reform included.
“If anything is excluded, we will decide in the party forum whether we will sign it.”
To ensure legal backing, he said the commission proposed a Legal Framework Order (LFO) and also called for guarantees that future governments cannot disregard collectively agreed reforms.
Akhtar also suggested constitutional amendments, saying if the constitution can be rewritten through a constituent assembly, the reforms can be properly incorporated.
He proposed provisions to prevent any conflicting laws from being enacted in the future.
Towards the end of the dialogue, he said: “We want to implement this charter based on fundamental reforms as soon as possible. We do not want to get caught in prolonged disputes or complications.”
Akhtar confirmed that after internal party discussions, the NCP will soon submit its formal position on the July Charter to the commission, which will then be presented publicly.
