BNP, Jamaat welcome caretaker govt verdict
Following the political change of August last year, several citizens and political leaders, including BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar, filed review petitions seeking reconsideration of the 2011 judgment
BNP and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami have welcomed the Supreme Court's decision restoring the Election-time Non-Partisan Caretaker Government (NPCG) system, calling it a victory for citizens' voting rights and a step toward credible future elections.
Speaking at Dhaka University this morning (20 November), BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said that only a caretaker administration could ensure a free and fair national election.
"Elections held under caretaker governments in the past were comparatively more acceptable," he said, adding that any structural weaknesses in the system could be resolved through reforms.
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"The most important thing is that there is a national consensus on the caretaker government. People have confidence in elections conducted under such a non-elected administration," he noted.
He said debates over who should lead the caretaker government could be resolved through dialogue.
BNP leaders and lawyers echoed similar sentiments after the verdict.
BNP lawyer Barrister Ruhul Kuddus Kazal described the ruling as the "latest verdict of the Supreme Court" reinstating the caretaker system and restoring citizens' right to vote.
"As a result of today's verdict, the system has been automatically revived in the Constitution," he said. "The people's voting rights have been re-established."
Barrister Zainul Abedin, counsel for BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, said the judgment would allow citizens to vote "without hesitation".
Jamaat-e-Islami also expressed satisfaction.
Speaking at a press conference at the party's central office in Moghbazar this afternoon, Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair said, "There is no alternative to a caretaker government for a fair and neutral election."
"It was because of cancelling the caretaker system that Sheikh Hasina's government became fascist and authoritarian. The elections of 2014, 2018, and 2024 were the darkest chapters in the country's history," he said.
"Bangladesh had no precedent of credible elections under partisan governments," he said, adding, "a neutral interim administration during elections is indispensable. Professor Ghulam Azam was the principal architect of this system."
However, Bangladesh's own electoral history contradicts this claim.
The country has previously held widely accepted elections under non-partisan administrations long before the system was formalised in the Constitution. In 1991, Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed led the first caretaker-style interim government formed after the fall of military ruler Hussain Muhammad Ershad in a mass uprising, overseeing what is broadly regarded as a credible national election.
Again in 1996, Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman headed a caretaker government that conducted another widely accepted poll.
These precedents ultimately led the Sixth Parliament to adopt the 13th Amendment later in 1996, formally institutionalising the caretaker system that had already gained legitimacy through its earlier successful applications.
Calling the verdict "historic", Zubair noted the coincidence in dates.
"On 20 November 1983, Jamaat-e-Islami first presented the outline of the caretaker system to the nation. Coincidentally, on 20 November 2025, the Supreme Court restored that system. We congratulate the court, the lawyers, and the people."
But no such evidence was found.
In contradiction to Zubair's statement, Ghulam Azam had in fact become the focal point of nationwide outrage after Ershad's fall in 1990. Mass protests - led by writer Jahanara Imam, who lost her son Shafi Imam Rumi in the Liberation War - demanded accountability for his wartime role. His very citizenship was challenged in the Supreme Court, as he held only a Pakistani passport.
Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir, representing the party, said the caretaker system had been "automatically reinstated" following the ruling.
"The upcoming 13th Jatiya Sangsad election will be held under the current interim government," he clarified. "The caretaker system will be effective from the 14th election."
Islamic Andolan Bangladesh has described the verdict as "a milestone against constitutional anarchy."
In a statement sent to the media today (20 November), the party's Secretary General, Maulana Yusuf Ahmad, said that through this ruling, the institutional mechanism for peaceful transfer of power in the country has regained its legal status.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman said, "Through today's verdict, the Appellate Division has given a 'prospective effect' in implementing the ruling, meaning the caretaker government system will come into effect after the next parliament, formed in the upcoming election, completes its term. As a result of this judgment, the caretaker government system has been reinstated. The system introduced through the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1996 has now been declared constitutional, and not in conflict with the Constitution."
"The caretaker government system has been declared supportive of Bangladesh's democracy, and this may be elaborated in the full judgment of the court. From today, the people of Bangladesh will be able to cast their own votes in the future; there will be no voting at night before election day, and no dead people will be able to come to vote. We believe Bangladesh has now begun its journey on a truly democratic highway," he added.
How the matter returned to court
The caretaker government system was abolished by Hasina-led government in 2011.
Following the political change of August last year, several citizens and political leaders, including BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar, filed review petitions seeking reconsideration of the 2011 judgment.
After rehearing the matter, the Appellate Division today (20 November) restored the system prospectively, ruling that while the upcoming 13th national polls will be held under the incumbent interim government, the 14th election will be conducted under a fully operational caretaker administration.
The full bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed, announced the judgment, which came after intense political and legal scrutiny of the 2011 decision that had abolished the system.
