Ensure checks, balances to curb autocracy
Academics have called for constitutional checks and balances to prevent governments from concentrating power and turning authoritarian on the strength of a parliamentary majority.
They made the recommendations at a meeting with the special parliamentary committee on constitutional reform at the Jatiya Sangsad on Tuesday.
The academics stressed the need to clearly define the powers of different state organs and ensure accountability to prevent the emergence of autocratic rule. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, who chairs the committee, said there would be opportunities for debate, although he was unsure whether the opposition’s absence would trigger controversy.
Responding to concerns raised by academic Ali Riaz that constitutional reform could become a partisan agenda without opposition participation, Salahuddin said the government was committed to implementing the July National Charter.
He said opposition leaders would be welcome to join the process if they submitted their names, adding that the initiative would continue even without their participation.
During the meeting, academics warned that majoritarian politics and the “winner takes all” approach could encourage discrimination and authoritarianism.
They called for stronger institutional checks and balances and accountability mechanisms to prevent political parties from turning into ruling establishments after coming to power.
Their proposals included clearly defining the judiciary’s authority to interpret the Constitution and its fundamental principles, ensuring judicial accountability and establishing a separate constitutional court. One academic also proposed a mechanism to hold courts accountable for constitutional violations.
Discussions on the caretaker government system included removing the president’s role as a last-resort option and involving the judiciary if consensus could not be reached through earlier alternatives.
National Professor Mahbub Ullah said any constitutional amendment or a new constitution should reflect the views of political parties, intellectuals, professionals and ordinary citizens.
He also proposed bringing state agencies exercising coercive powers, including intelligence agencies, under effective accountability mechanisms.
Professor Mohammad Tanzimuddin Khan said proposals had been made to recognise the Liberation War and those who contributed to the independence movement before and during the war.
Professor Samina Luthfa said recommendations had been made to ensure equal rights for women through legal amendments and changes to terminology used in the Constitution.
The proposals included replacing “Mohila” with “Nari” (woman), “Upajati” with “different ethnic communities” and “Upasampraday” with “religious communities”, arguing that the existing terms carry discriminatory implications.
Of the 45 academics invited to the meeting, 17 attended.
