Bangladesh Preps For National Elections

Given the fact that in the past, elections conducted by governments led by political parties were seen as being “rigged” the Interim Government of Bangladesh led by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus is set to opt for the Neutral Caretaker Government (NCG) system to conduct free and fair elections.

The National Consensus Commission’s Vice-Chairman Prof. Ali Riaz told the media on Wednesday that all political parties had sought the restoration of the NCG system that was abolished by the Awami League regime led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2011 through the 15 th.,Constitutional Amendment (15A).

Representatives of 30 political parties including Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, National Citizen Party (NCP), Gono Odhikar Parishad, Ganosamhati Andolan, Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Biplobi Workers Party, Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party participated in the discussion. The Awami League was not represented as it had been banned by the Interim Government.

Dr. Riaz said that there was consensus also on the formation, structure, and powers of a NCG. As per current plans, parliamentary elections are to be held in early April 2026.

Earlier, on December 17, 2024, the Bangladesh High Court had restored the provision for an NCG system. The Court observed that 15A contradicted the constitution's basic framework and undermined key democratic principles.

Since the passage of the 15A, Bangladesh has not witnessed a single free or fair election. Democracy had ceased to exist under the Awami League regime which lasted till August 2024, The Daily Star said. The irony is that the 13th Amendment (13A) which introduced the NCG system on March 28, 1996, was passed following mass street protests primarily led by the Awami League!.

In 2011, extensive consultations carried out by a parliamentary committee led by senior MP Sayeda Sajeda Chowdhury, led to the committee unanimously recommending the retention of the NCG system. But Sheikh Hasina, the then Prime Minister, chose to abolish it.

“Since then, three parliamentary elections have been held in Bangladesh—in 2014, 2018 and 2024—all of which were either flawed or outright farcical. The 2014 election was boycotted by the main opposition parties; the 2018 election was marred by massive vote rigging the night before polling day; and the 2024 election featured dummy candidates put forth by the Awami League to compensate for the absence of major opposition parties, was also boycotted,” The Daily Star pointed out.

“Given this history and the consistent failure of partisan governments to hold credible elections, it has become evident that the Caretaker Government system is one of the main safeguards for ensuring free and fair elections in Bangladesh,” the daily added.

Since most election malpractices were attributed to the partisanship of the governments under which the elections were held, the idea of a NCG during an election was adopted in some countries. A caretaker government normally takes care of routine governmental functions for a short period until an elected government is formed.

In an established parliamentary system, as in the UK, the outgoing government becomes a Caretaker Government. It can only perform day to day administrative duties and cannot take any policy decisions, especially those which may influence the elections. It quits the moment a new government is elected.

In Bangladesh, NCGs were appointed at the sole discretion of the President of the country. While governments resigned to face elections, the President continued in office. In Bangladesh, the President appointed a retired Chief Justice as the head of the Caretaker Cabinet in consultation with parties, and according to certain set principles.

It is generally believed that election rigging started in Bangladesh when military ruler Gen.Ziaur Rahman held a referendum in 1977. A voter turnout of 88.5% was recorded and votes in favour of the incumbent General were 98.88 % of the total votes cast. Gen. Ziaur Rahman held two elections in which he is said to have used the coercive arms of the State.

The next military dictator, Gen.H.M.Ershad held a Referendum in March, 1985 and three elections thereafter. Of these, the Presidential and Parliamentary polls held on 15th October 1986 and 3rd March, 1988 respectively, were boycotted by all opposition parties, including the Awami League and the BNP. Only his own Jatiyo Party was in the arena. The reason? No fair play.

In 1990, there was a mass agitation against Ershad. An NCG agreed-upon by all political parties, and headed by former Chief Justice Habibur Rahman was installed to conduct free and fair elections. The BNP led by Khaleda Zia won the elections held in March 1991. The BNP government held the next general elections on 15th February 1996, but these polls were boycotted by opposition parties as they did not expect fair elections under the BNP. With the result, the election saw only a 21 % turn-out – the lowest in the history Bangladesh.

In the face of mounting agitations and a clear demonstration of lack of trust by the people, Khaleda Zia resigned. But before doing so, she got parliament to pass the 13th amendment on 26th March 1996, setting up the Non-Party Caretaker Government system.

The 1996 elections were much more free and fair than the election of 1991, as observed by the EEC team, headed by an Italian Senator. The National Democratic Institute (NDI) said that the 1996 elections had enjoyed the solid support of the people. The process was also peaceful, open and well-administered.

The United Nations Electoral Assistance Secretariat reported that the 2001 elections had reached a satisfactory level of reliability. The Elections Commission and the NCG were praised at home and abroad for conducting an election successfully and transferring power to the newly-elected leaders peacefully.

Similarly, the ninth Parliamentary elections, held on 29 December 2008, were a success. International observers noticed that the elections had been up to international standards. European Union Election Observation Mission's (EUEOM) Chief Observer Graf Lambsdorff stated that, in spite of a few technical flaws, the ninth Parliamentary elections were held with professionalism, transparency and credibility. Commonwealth Observer Groups reported that they did not find any evidence to support allegations of manipulation of the elections.

The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) Foundation, also suggested that the elections were free and fair. The voter turnout was 86.3 percent, a new record in the history of the country, which showed that the confidence of the people in the electoral process had been restored.

As stated earlier, the NCG was abolished in 2011 by the Hasina government through the 15th Amendment. Clearly, Hasina wanted to be in power at all costs. A report on the NCG system done by a parliamentary committee had recommended that the NCG system be scrapped. Based on this, the 15A abolishing the NCG was passed.

With the NCG gone, a series of one-sided elections were held in 2014 and 2024 and an extremely fraudulent election was held in 2018. All this led to the alienation of the masses from the Hasina/Awami League regime.

A cascading mass movement in 2024 led by Dhaka University students on a number of existential issues, led to the ignominious exit of Sheikh Hasina from Bangladesh, the collapse of her government and the installation of an Interim Government under Nobel Laureate Dr.Muhammad Yunus.

A reform commission set up by Dr.Yunus has seen a keenness among all political parties to have the NCG system restored so that the country could have another go at having free, fair and peaceful elections, a dream yet to come true.