Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md. Asaduzzaman said the next national parliamentary election will be held under a caretaker government.
He made the remarks Thursday (July 9) at his office in the secretariat, reacting to the Appellate Division’s decision to uphold the High Court’s ruling on the 15th amendment to the constitution.
However, the minister said the process and composition of this election-time government would become clear once the full verdict is available.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s ruling on the 15th amendment to the constitution, which had abolished the caretaker government system and changed several other provisions. Lawyers said this restores the caretaker government system and the right to a referendum. The full and regular bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, delivered the verdict on Thursday.
Asked by reporters whether he could confirm that the upcoming national election would definitely be held under a caretaker government, the law minister said: “Insha’Allah, insha’Allah. This is our political commitment. As you know, the caretaker government system is the fruit of BNP’s movement. How so? The interim government that emerged before the 1991 election was the result of the struggle led by BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia. It was from that concept that we moved to the caretaker government process.”
He said BNP had brought the 13th amendment bill to parliament in 1996, which created the organizational framework for a non-partisan, neutral caretaker government.
The law minister further said BNP had fought for this for the past 16-17 years. “Under Khaleda Zia’s leadership, with the slogan ‘Save the country, save the people,’ we walked a path of continuous struggle whose central goal was: ‘I will cast my own vote, for whomever I choose.’ There was no alternative path to returning to that process other than a caretaker government. We remain politically committed to that position.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report