Staff Correspondent

Despite being the central issue in Thursday’s second-round talks of the National Consensus Commission, discussions on the caretaker government system ended without any decision.

The commission has decided to suspend deliberations on the matter, political leaders present at the meeting said.

During the mid-day lunch break of the dialogue, they said, political parties conveyed that the structural framework of the caretaker government depends on the decisions regarding both the upper and lower houses of parliament. As such, a resolution on the upper house must be reached first.

Zonayed Saki, chief coordinator of Ganosamhati Andolan, said, “Our past experience of aligning the judiciary with the head of the caretaker government was not pleasant. Similarly, appointing the President as the Chief Adviser in the absence of alternatives did not yield positive outcomes.”

Since the caretaker government is inherently a political decision, most political parties have proposed that the responsibility of forming such a government remain with the parliament.

In this regard, Saki said, a proposal has emerged to form a seven-member committee consisting of members from both the upper and lower houses.

This committee would elect a Chief Adviser ahead of the national elections either through consensus or by a ranking-based voting mechanism. “But as no final decision has been taken regarding the upper house, it is still not possible to determine the structural framework for selecting a caretaker government,” Saki added.

Ruhin Hossain Prince, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), said that based on past experiences, both the name and powers of the caretaker government should be revised. “If such a government is required before every election, questions arise about what reforms have truly been achieved in the country.”

He proposed that, for now, the caretaker government should be renamed as a “Non-partisan Neutral Election Oversight Government.”

According to Prince, “This government’s sole responsibility should be to conduct the national election. It should not make any decisions beyond the polls, nor should it oversee local government elections.”

Alongside discussions on the caretaker government, the commission also consulted political parties on the appointment process for the Chief Justice.

The majority of political parties proposed that instead of appointing the most senior judge of the Appellate Division as Chief Justice by default, one should be selected from among the top two based on merit.

Highlighting controversies surrounding past judicial appointments, AB Party Secretary General Asaduzzaman Fuad said, “Many judges in the judiciary were appointed during the Awami League government. Several of them were selected not on merit but for political considerations. If the most senior among them is made Chief Justice, the transparency of the judiciary will be compromised.”

Fuad stressed the need for a comprehensive overhaul of the entire judicial appointment system.