When the Constitution of Bangladesh was amended in 1991 and the parliamentary system was reinstated, the then interim president is said to have made an interesting observation.
Seeing that virtually all the powers of the president had been taken away by the amendment, Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed remarked: “The president will now have no other work to do except visit the shrines.”
However, it cannot be said that all presidents have been able to visit shrines peacefully.
In Bangladesh’s deeply divided political landscape, a deceased leader is sometimes feared more than a living one.
In 2002, the BNP forced its own nominated president, Badruddoza Chowdhury, to resign after only seven months in office. His crime? He had expressed a desire to visit the grave of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Some say, however, that president Chowdhury had expressed reluctance to visit the grave of former president Ziaur Rahman, the founder of the BNP.
Whatever the truth, Badruddoza Chowdhury had to leave Bangabhaban in disgrace amid the controversy over which grave he would or would not visit.
The present is not free of controversy either.
Many had expected the new Parliament to do two things at the beginning of its session: Establish an upper house with 105 members, and then elect a new president through a vote of the members of both houses.
The debate over how members of the upper house would be elected, according to the proportion of votes received in the general election or the proportion of seats won in the lower house, ended with the BNP’s absolute victory.
Meanwhile, some significant changes to the powers of the president are also expected, if the “July Charter” is indeed a meaningful document for the BNP.
Caretaker is coming
However, even before all this, a new president was elected on August 20.
There has hardly been any adverse reaction to the person elected.
It would not be wrong to say that Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is one of the most experienced and respected politicians not only in the BNP but also in Bangladesh.
He visited the grave of Ziaur Rahman but expressed no desire to visit the grave of Bangabandhu. He has passed the initial test of survival. But the discussion over the future of the presidency has not ended with this election, it may only have begun.
Why Awami League-nominated Md Sahabuddin remained president for six months even after the BNP secured a two-thirds majority in the election is also a matter of curiosity and deserves analysis.
There is little doubt that Mirza Fakhrul’s work as president will largely be limited to formalities. But even if the president has nothing to do for the next four and a half years except “visit the shrines,” the final six months will be eventful.
Under the current system, elections must be held within 90 days before the expiry of Parliament’s term. In other words, Parliament remains in session during the election.
But the High Court has already reinstated the system of holding elections under a non-partisan, impartial caretaker government. All that remains is to determine the process for selecting the chief adviser and other members of the caretaker government and to incorporate the necessary amendments into the Constitution.
In principle, Bangladesh’s 2031 general election will be held under a caretaker government.
Biswas to Iazuddin
A feature of the caretaker system is that the prime minister will request the president in writing to dissolve Parliament only after the existing Parliament has completed its full five-year term.
The government will also resign, and the chief adviser of the caretaker government will take the oath of office and begin work.
The president will play a major role during this period, as he will be the only elected officeholder, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and the wheels of the bureaucracy will turn on his orders.
Here, one can look back to 2001.
Justice Latifur Rahman made 13 secretaries OSD within an hour of taking office as chief adviser on July 15.
His move created a stir in political circles. There was strong suspicion within the Awami League, the party that had just left power, that Justice Rahman would work against it.
But the fact is that the new chief adviser sidelined secretaries appointed by the Awami League in order to work impartially. He did not do this alone. He acted in consultation with the then president, Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed.
Two other instances can be recalled. First, Justice Habibur Rahman took over as chief adviser after the caretaker system was introduced in 1996. But when Army Chief General Mohammad Nasim tried to seize power, some senior officers helped President Abdur Rahman Biswas at Bangabhaban foil the coup attempt.
Second, in 2006, the ruling BNP tried to secure a chief adviser of its choice by increasing the retirement age of judges. After this attempt to manipulate the caretaker system failed, BNP-nominated President Iazuddin Ahmed declared himself chief adviser.
Many suspected at the time that President Ahmed was acting in consultation with the recently departed prime minister, Khaleda Zia. But that attempt to influence the election also failed when Iazuddin Ahmed, under pressure from the army, declared a state of emergency and postponed the election.
Md Sahabuddin’s disrespect
Against this diverse and turbulent backdrop, Mirza Fakhrul will face a test of impartiality and integrity. The country’s next election will be held within three months of the end of the 13th Parliament.
Those three months will be the most important and consequential period of Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir’s presidency.
The date of the presidential election, the 20th of this month, appears to have been carefully chosen. The respect Tarique Rahman showed President Md Sahabuddin does not appear to have been mere courtesy.
Sahabuddin once complained that the chief adviser of the interim government had shown him no respect at all and had instead humiliated him. He wanted to resign at the time. But, overwhelmed by Tarique Rahman’s respect, he remained in office.
Six months later, the BNP government forced President Md Sahabuddin to resign. There did not appear to be much respect on display then. He was not even invited to the swearing-in ceremony of the new president.
With the presidential election taking place six months after the formation of Parliament, Mirza Fakhrul’s term will expire in August 2031. That means he will remain in this crucial position throughout the entire election period under the caretaker government.
What kind of role will he play? Can he rise above his loyalty to the party and play a neutral role in the interests of the country?
Mirza Fakhrul’s answer is “yes.”
He has resigned from all BNP posts and announced that he has severed his ties with the party. He has said that he will now act impartially.
Maladaptive political culture
It is certainly reassuring to hear Mirza Fakhrul’s words, and ordinary people will hope that he can act accordingly.
But they also know how difficult it is to play a genuinely “neutral” role in Bangladesh’s bitter and vindictive political culture.
For example, it is practically impossible to deny Sheikh Mujib’s place in Bangladesh’s independence struggle and political history. But will Mirza Fakhrul be able to acknowledge this truth in any of his speeches? If he can, it will be a sign of his political wisdom and maturity -- and, perhaps more importantly, that of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
People will not expect the impossible from the president. No one will expect him to go beyond his constitutional limitations and perform some miracle.
They will simply expect the president to make it easier for his chief adviser to uphold the central principle of the caretaker government system, ensuring a free and fair election.
However, it is also true that no president has so far been able to overturn an election. Since the caretaker system was incorporated into the Constitution, three elections have been held under this arrangement.
Two were conducted under BNP-nominated presidents, and Khaleda Zia’s party was defeated in both.
The election held under an Awami League-nominated president resulted in disaster for Sheikh Hasina.
What the situation will look like in 2031, however, is difficult to predict.
Sabir Mustafa is former head of BBC Bangla and is currently working as a freelance journalist and podcaster. Views expressed are the writer’s own.