Almost all parties attending the National Consensus Commission鈥檚 second-round dialogue on Sunday reached a consensus on the composition and formation process of the election-time caretaker government.
However, the parties continued to debate whether a single individual should be allowed to hold three key positions of the prime minister, the leader of the parliament, and the chief of a political party simultaneously.
Thirty political parties participated in the NCC dialogue at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, where the commission presented a refined proposal on the caretaker government.
According to NCC vice-chair Professor Ali Riaz, the fresh proposal resulted from a compilation of four sets of recommendations from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the National Citizen Party, and the Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh, along with feedback from the participants who attended the dialogue.
However, Ali Riaz expected that the final consensus on the caretaker government issue would be made on Tuesday, followed by the parties鈥� internal discussions on Monday.
Under the new proposal, a selection committee for appointing the chief adviser of the caretaker government would be formed, comprising the prime minister, the聽 opposition leader, the speaker, the deputy speaker, and one representative from the third-largest party in parliament.
This committee must select the chief adviser at least 15 days before the dissolution of parliament.
Thirty days prior to the dissolution, the speaker-led selection committee will invite the names of chief adviser candidates from parliamentary parties, other parties registered with the Election Commission, and independent lawmakers.
From the nominations, the selection committee will finalise the chief adviser by consensus within 120 hours of its formation.
If this method fails, the committee will shortlist three candidates, each nominated separately by the ruling party, the opposition, and the third-largest party, and attempt to reach a consensus on one.
If no consensus is reached, the committee members will cast individual votes through a secret ballot and determine the chief adviser using the ranked-choice method.
The president will then appoint the selected candidate, who must be no older than 75 years, as the chief adviser for a 90-day term.
In consultation with the selection committee, the chief adviser will appoint up to 15 advisers, who must meet the eligibility criteria outlined in article 58C of the 13th amendment to the constitution.
As part of the new proposal, the parties also agreed to amend the constitution鈥檚 article 123(3), specifying that the national election must be held within 90 days of the expiration or early dissolution of parliament.
The proposal also allows the caretaker government to take an additional 30 days to hold the national election in case of unavoidable circumstances.
In the second agenda of the dialogue, the parties discussed whether an individual can simultaneously hold the positions of the prime minister, the leader of the parliament and the party chief, or not.
Political parties, however, remained divided on the issue.
BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said that the democratic practice did not support restricting the prime minister from also being the leader of the parliament and the party chief.
鈥楬olding the party chief position should not disqualify someone from being prime minister,鈥� he said.
National Democratic Movement secretary general Mominul Amin and Liberal Democratic Party secretary general Redwan Ahmed supported Salahuddin.
Jamaat鈥檚 nayeb-e-amir Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher said that the leader of the parliament and the prime minister can be the same person.
However, he recommended a reform under which the prime minister should not simultaneously serve as the party chief.
NCP senior joint convener Ariful Islam Adeeb said that his party proposed that three different individuals should hold the offices of prime minister, party chief, and leader of the house.
鈥楾his separation of powers is essential for checks and balances. This is also for promoting the future leaders,鈥� he argued.
RWPB general secretary Saiful Huq also opposed a person鈥檚 dual role as the prime minister and the party chief.
