Will the President’s powers increase?

The President is the highest constitutional office in the state. Although all executive actions of the government are taken in the President’s name, the President’s independent authorities are extremely limited.

Under the existing Constitution, apart from appointing the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice, the President is required to act on the advice of the Prime Minister in virtually every matter. Had the July Charter been implemented, the President’s powers would have been expanded to some extent.

The July Charter contained a number of reform proposals aimed at establishing a balance of power among the various organs of the state, including curbing the Prime Minister’s excessive powers and enhancing the President’s authority in certain areas.

However, even six months after the elected government assumed office, the Charter is yet to be implemented. As a result, the President’s powers have not been expanded either.

The ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has, however, said it will implement the July National Charter as it was signed and amend the Constitution accordingly.

If this is ultimately done, the President will have the power to make independent appointments to four institutions: the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Information Commission, the Press Council and the Law Commission.

The Awami League government was ousted through the mass uprising of 5 August 2024. On 8 August that year, an interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus was sworn in. In the political discourse that followed the uprising, two of the most widely discussed issues were the “abolition of the fascist system” and “state reform”.

In October 2024, the interim government formed six reform commissions to formulate proposals for reforms in various areas. Subsequently, the National Consensus Commission was established to build political consensus around the commissions’ recommendations.

Following lengthy discussions with political parties, the July National Charter was drawn up, incorporating a total of 84 reform proposals. Of these, 48 are related to constitutional reform. Several important proposals aimed at creating a balance of power are included in the Charter. The BNP, however, has submitted notes of dissent on some of those.

After reviewing the existing Constitution, the Constitution Reform Commission said in its report that the absence of an effective system of checks and balances posed a serious threat to Bangladesh’s democratic system of governance. The excessive concentration of power had turned the Prime Minister into an authoritarian ruler.

One of the principal objectives of constitutional reform, it said, should be to prevent the emergence of any form of fascist rule in the future and to decentralise state power while empowering state institutions adequately.

The report further said that, to consolidate democracy, every institution within the executive branch must be made effective and designed to complement the others. To this end, it considered a balanced relationship between the Prime Minister and the President, together with the effective empowerment of both offices, to be essential.

To achieve these objectives, the commission proposed curbing the Prime Minister’s unchecked powers and establishing a balance of power among state institutions.

Its recommendations included changing the appointment process for constitutional institutions, granting the President independent authority over certain appointments, introducing a bicameral parliament, preventing any individual from remaining Prime Minister for an extended period, and amending Article 70 of the Constitution.

Some changes were subsequently made to these proposals during discussions within the National Consensus Commission.

Under the Constitution, the appointment of the Prime Minister falls within the President’s jurisdiction, but the President cannot appoint anyone at will. The Constitution provides that the President shall appoint as Prime Minister the member of parliament who appears to command the support of the majority of MPs. Under the existing Constitution, all executive power is vested in the Prime Minister.

During discussions with political parties, the National Consensus Commission proposed expanding the President’s authority over a range of appointments.

The proposal initially envisaged placing the appointment of the chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as the Director General of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and the Director General of the National Security Intelligence (NSI), among 12 institutions, directly under the President’s authority.

However, following discussions with the political parties, it was agreed that the President would have independent authority to appoint the chairperson and members of the National Human Rights Commission, the chief and members of the Information Commission, the chairperson and members of the Press Council, the chairperson and members of the Law Commission, the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, and the chairperson and members of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC).

In these cases, the President would be able to make appointments independently, without any advice or recommendation from another authority. This provision was incorporated into the July Charter.

The BNP, however, has objected to placing the appointment of the Bangladesh Bank Governor and BERC members directly under the President’s authority.

Meanwhile, the BNP has stated in its election manifesto that a balance of power would be established between the President and the Prime Minister. It did not, however, provide details of how this would be achieved. The party has also pledged to create the office of Vice-President.

The BNP has been repeatedly saying that it will implement the July Charter in the form in which it was signed, including the party’s notes of dissent. A special committee has already been formed in Parliament to work on amendments to the Constitution, and it has begun its work. The opposition, however, has rejected the committee.

If the Constitution is amended in accordance with the BNP’s position on implementation of the July Charter, the President will have the independent authority to make appointments to the NHRC, the Information Commission, the Press Council and the Law Commission.

The July Charter also contains proposals concerning the election of the President. At present, the President is elected by an open vote. Under Article 70 of the Constitution, MPs cannot vote against their party’s decision. The July Charter proposes that the President be elected by secret ballot by members of both the lower and upper houses of Parliament, alongside an amendment to Article 70.

Under the proposal, MPs would be free to vote independently in Parliament on any matter other than finance bills and votes of confidence.

The BNP, however, has submitted a dissenting position on this issue. It has said that MPs should be free to vote independently on all matters except finance bills, votes of confidence, constitutional amendments and matters of national security (relating to a state of war).

While casting his vote in the presidential election yesterday, Thursday, opposition Chief Whip and National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam told journalists, “If Article 70 did not exist and MPs were given the opportunity to vote independently, the office of the President would have been accorded greater dignity. At the same time, we could have moved towards a balance of power between the President and the Prime Minister. But that is not happening.”

On the same day, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed told journalists, “When the constitutional amendments are brought in the future, Article 70 will also be amended. Article 70 will be amended in accordance with the consensus we reached in the July National Charter. Thereafter, when the President is elected, the election will be conducted in accordance with the amended Article 70.”