PBS-304: Bangladesh Studies
Lecture 05
Government in Bangladesh: Form, Head of State; Prime
Minister; Cabinet; Political System in Bangladesh—executive,
legislature, judiciary
Professor Dr. Sadik Hasan
Course Teacher
Form of Government
▪ The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh is the central executive government of
Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh consisting the
executive represented by the president, prime minister and cabinet. The legislature represented
by the Jatiya Sangsad and the judiciary, represented by the Supreme Court. Bangladesh is a
unitary state, and the central government has the authority to govern over the entirety of the
nation. The seat of the government is located in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
▪ The executive government is led by the prime minister, who selects all the remaining ministers.
The prime minister and the other most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision-making
committee, known as the Cabinet.
▪ Bangladesh is a de jure (practices that are legally recognized) representative democracy (also
knows as indirect democracy where elected people represent a group of people) under its
constitution, with a Westminster-style unitary parliamentary republic that has universal suffrage.
The head of government is the Prime Minister, who is invited to form a government every five
years. The President invites the leader of the largest party in parliament to become Prime
Minister of the world's fifth-largest democracy.
Head of State
▪ The President is the Head of State, a largely ceremonial post. The real power is held by the
Prime Minister, who is the head of government. The president is elected by the legislature
every five years and has normally limited powers that are substantially expanded during the
tenure of a caretaker government, mainly in controlling the transition to a new government.
▪ As head of the state, the president can grant pardon to a man sentenced to death penalty or
lessen the punishment. In some cases, it also performs some legislative and judicial
functions.
Prime of Minister
▪ The prime minister of Bangladesh, officially prime minister of the People's Republic of
Bangladesh is the chief executive of the government of Bangladesh. The prime minister and the
cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Parliament, to their
political party and ultimately to the electorate. The prime minister is ceremonially appointed by
the president of Bangladesh.
▪ According to the Constitution, the prime minister is appointed by the President based upon the
result of the electorates choice in parliamentary general election held by the Election
Commission.
▪ The Prime Minister will be the leader of the majority party (or coalition) in the Jatiya Sangsad and
must have the confidence of the Jatiya Sangsad to govern.
▪ The office of the Prime Minister is located at Tejgaon in Dhaka city. It is considered a ministry of
the government and among other duties, provides clerical, security, and other support to the
prime minister, governs intelligence affairs, NGOs, and arranges protocol and ceremonies.
▪ Some specific ministries/department are not allocated to anyone in the cabinet but the prime
minister themself. The prime minister is usually always in charge/head of: Leader of the House
(responsible for managing and scheduling Government business in the Sangsad); Cabinet
Division; Head of the Armed Forces Division and Minister of Defense, etc.
Cabinet
▪ The Cabinet of Bangladesh is the chief executive body of the People's Republic of
Bangladesh. The cabinet is the collective decision-making body of the entire
government under the Office of the Prime Minister, composed of the prime minister
and some 25 cabinet ministers, 7 advisers, 18 state ministers and 3 deputy
ministers.
▪ At least 90% of the ministers must be MPs. The other 10% may be non-MP experts
or "technocrats" who are not otherwise disqualified from being elected MPs.
According to the constitution, the president can dissolve Parliament upon the written
request of the prime minister.
▪ The appointments of the Prime Minister and other Ministers of state and deputy
Ministers, shall be made by the President: Provided that not less the nine-tenths of
their number shall be appointed from among members of parliament, and not more
than one-tenth of their number may be chosen from among persons qualified for
election as members of parliament.
Political System in Bangladesh--Legislative
▪ The Jatiya Sangshad (National Parliament) is the unicameral parliament. It has 350
Members of Parliament (MPs), including 300 MPs elected on the first past the post
system and 50 MPs appointed to reserved seats for women's empowerment.
▪ Article 70 of the Constitution of Bangladesh forbids MPs from voting against their
party. However, several laws proposed independently by MPs have been
transformed into legislation, including the anti-torture law.
▪ The parliament is presided over by the Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad, who is
second in line to the president as per the constitution. There is also a Deputy
Speaker. When a president is incapable of performing duties (i.e., due to illness),
the Speaker steps in as Acting President and the Deputy Speaker becomes Acting
Speaker.
▪ A recurring proposal suggests that the Deputy Speaker should be an opposition
member.
Political System in Bangladesh--Executive
▪ The Government of Bangladesh is overseen by a cabinet headed by the Prime
Minister of Bangladesh. The tenure of a parliamentary government is five years.
▪ The Bangladesh Civil Service assists the cabinet in running the government.
Recruitment for the civil service is based on a public examination. In theory, the civil
service should be a meritocracy. But a disputed quota system coupled with
politicization and preference for seniority have allegedly affected the civil service's
meritocracy.
▪ The President of Bangladesh is the ceremonial head of state whose powers include
signing bills passed by parliament into law. The President is elected by the
parliament for a five-year tenure. Under the constitution, the president acts on the
prime minister's advice. The President is the Supreme Commander of the
Bangladesh Armed Forces and the chancellor of all universities.
Political System in Bangladesh--Judiciary
▪ The Supreme Court of Bangladesh is the highest court of the land, followed by the
High Court and Appellate Divisions.
▪ The head of the judiciary is the Chief Justice of Bangladesh, who sits on the
Supreme Court.
▪ The courts have wide latitude in judicial review, and judicial precedent is supported
by Article 111 of the constitution.
▪ The judiciary includes district and metropolitan courts divided into civil and criminal
courts.
▪ The Bangladesh Judicial Service Commission is responsible for judicial
appointments, salaries, and discipline.