Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Thursday (November 20, 2025) ordered restoration of election time non-partisan caretaker government but said the judgment would not apply to the planned general elections to be held in February next year.
A full seven-member of the Supreme Court’s apex Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed issued the order that “restored and revived” the previous constitutional provision which was annulled during deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government.
The apex court verdict, however, specified a phased implementation of the system, saying it would not apply to the planned 13th parliamentary polls, keeping the now disbanded Awami League out of the election fray.
The caretaker system was introduced in 1996 and two subsequent elections led by two retired chief justices oversaw the widely accepted polls within 90 days and transferred power to the winners.
The third consequent election in 2008 was held under a military-backed interim government led by a former central bank governor in a peaceful manner which brought Hasina’s now disbanded Awami League government, which scrapped the system with its overwhelming majority in parliament.
