Badiul Alam Majumdar on Tuesday called for the restoration of a non-party caretaker government to oversee national elections, arguing that the system is essential for credible polls in line with the charter that emerged from the student-led uprising in 2024.

Majumdar, the former head of the electoral reform commission, said at a press conference in Dhaka that an effective electoral system was impossible without the arrangement. “The 13th parliament will determine who will head the non-party caretaker government,” he hoped.

He urged politicians to learn from the past, adding that the public had endorsed the “July National Charter” and that the administration should accept it.

Dr Sharif Bhuiyan, a lawyer who litigated the caretaker government case, contended that the 16 years of “autocratic rule” began when the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, led by Justice Khairul Haque, annulled the system in a flawed verdict in 2011.

“The partisan judges issued a distorted verdict abolishing the caretaker government,” Bhuiyan said. He added that the Supreme Court could not evade responsibility for the subsequent political crisis, though the Appellate Division has now recognised its error and retracted the earlier judgment.

The caretaker government system, which used a neutral chief adviser to run elections, was scrapped in 2011 by the then-ruling Awami League government through constitutional amendment, following the court verdict. Successive elections since have been held under partisan administrations, drawing criticism from opposition parties and observers.

Majumdar expressed hope that political parties would demonstrate wisdom in implementing the July Charter when selecting a future caretaker government chief.