DHAKA, Oct 29: President Prof Iajuddin Ahmed took the charge of the chief of the caretaker government of Bangladesh on Sunday amid a legal and political controversy over his appointment.
He is yet to appoint his cabinet. Although the Awami League boycotted the swearing-in ceremony, it conditionally accepted the president as the chief of the caretaker administration.
“It would have been better had the president not taken the charge of the caretaker government. But we would expect that he would function in a non-partisan manner,” Sheikh Hasina told the press after emerging from a meeting with her political allies. “We would watch his activities while our movement will continue.”
“We cannot welcome him in his new role immediately,” Ms Hasina said. “We will closely watch his actions to see if he is acceptable.”
She demanded reconstitution of the Election Commission to ensure a congenial atmosphere for free and fair election.
Earlier in the day, President Ahmed had separate meetings with the leaders of four major political parties, including the BNP, the Awami League, the Jamaat-i-Islami and the Jatiya Party.
While the Awami League opposed the idea of the president taking charge of the caretaker administration without exhausting the constitutionally required process, the rest of the parties supported the president.
The Awami League even found presidential consultation with political parties a pre-mature step on his behalf.
Agencies add: President Ahmed’s caretaker government will oversee Bangladesh until general elections next year, moving to resolve a political crisis that has left at least 22 people dead in more than three days of violent rioting.
Mr Ahmed took over from outgoing prime minister Khaleda Zia, whose government completed its five-year term on Friday and was constitutionally required to transfer power to an interim administration before elections.
It is still unclear if Mr Ahmed’s take over will end a political stand off with the country’s main opposition group who have demanded a non-partisan candidate to lead the nation.
On Sunday, Ms Hasina’s 14-party opposition alliance rejected Mr Ahmed’s offer to head the interim government after a former chief justice, K. M. Hasan, declined the post in the wake of deadly opposition-sponsored protests. Mr Hasan has links with Mrs Zia’s party.
Even though Mr Ahmed does not belong to any party, he was previously elected as a candidate of Mrs Zia’s party.
The brief swearing-in ceremony was attended by diplomats, politicians and senior officials.
Chief Justice Syed J. R. Mudassir Husain swore in Mr Ahmed, who will continue to act as the country’s titular president.
Dhaka was empty of traffic amid a curfew-like condition as hundreds of security forces fanned out across the city.
Bangladesh spent more than 15 years under military rule since it gained independence from Pakistan in 1971. Democracy was restored in 1990 when a pro-democracy movement ousted the last military ruler, Hossain Mohammad Ershad.
Mrs Zia and Ms Hasina, who led the pro-democracy movement, are now rivals.
Officials said the president’s swearing-in had put to rest a long-running controversy over who should lead the caretaker authority and supervise the election in January 2,007.
The opposition wants the president to remove Chief Election Commissioner M.A. Aziz and his deputies whom it accuses of being biased towards Mrs Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
Some analysts said the president’s self-appointment as interim head could further inflame opposition anger.
