The New Nation - Internet Edition

Bdnews24.com, Dhaka

Former chief adviser Muhammad Habibur Rahman believes elected politicians should play caretakers for polls.

"The incumbent government, vested with interim status, should oversee elections," the former chief justice said Thursday, in an apparent side-swipe at the caretaker government system.

"People confer the country's administration to an elected government. Why should it not administer elections in the interim period?" Habibur Rahman said at a programme organised by Transparency International, Bangladesh.

He was speaking as chief guest at the publication of a TIB report on 'Parliament and the role of lawmakers: people's expectations' held at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre.

On the role of lawmakers, TIB chairman Prof Muzaffer Ahmed said: "We don't want the rule of prime minister; we want the rule of public representatives."

Habibur Rahman, who oversaw elections in 1996, said Bangladesh's eight elections had been frustrating experiences for the nation so far, but he hoped the ninth parliamentary election would be a good one.

The present chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed had also hinted last month that the caretaker system of governance in Bangladesh could be re-evaluated.

Addressing a gathering of expatriate Bangladeshis in New York in September, the chief adviser said: "I believe the caretaker government is not a permanent solution. An elected government should govern the country."

Replying to a query, he said: "The caretaker government system is provisioned by the Constitution. But we should think what is required in the future."