পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (দ্বিতীয় খণ্ড).pdf/২৩৫

এই পাতাটির মুদ্রণ সংশোধন করা হয়েছে, কিন্তু বৈধকরণ করা হয়নি।
বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ দ্বিতীয় খণ্ড
208

 16. Electoral College composed of Assembly members not suitable- There are fundamental objections against the President's indirect election through an electoral college composed of the members of the three Assemblies. Firstly, if the President who is invested with immense powers is to be elected by the members of the three Assemblies acting jointly, those members to whom the President is not at all responsible, may be in a position to bargain with him and thereby render him less effective in the exercise of his constitutional powers and even on matters of policy and principle. Such a situation will be hardly conducive to good government and smooth administration. In a Parliamentary form of government where the Ministers are more powerful and the Head of the State has very little discretionary powers, election of the Head of the State by members of the Assemblies may be well-suited. But the position in the Presidential form of government is different altogether. In this pattern of government, election of the President by Assembly members is clearly unsuited the same being repugnant to the underlying principle that the President, in order to be effective, should not be made to depend on the Assembly members. Secondly, if the President dissolves the National Assembly for any reason under Article 23 of the Constitution, the President himself ceases to hold office upon the expiration of 120 days after the date of dissolution. In that event, a general election of the members of the Assembly has to be held within 90 days after the dissolution under Article 168 of the Constitution. When a recommendation is being made by us for the direct election of Assembly members on the basis of adult suffrage, it will be hardly possible to complete the general election within the said sort period of 90 days. Experience has shown that even the last indirect election of Assembly members through a small electorate, took three months to complete in spite of the Election Commission's best effort. If the dissolved National Assembly cannot be reconstituted within ninety days after its dissolution, there shall be no National Assembly to re-elect the President who went out of office with the dissolution of that Assembly or to elect another President within the prescribed time limit. This may result in a vacuum in the office of President which, however, cannot be ruled out altogether, but there shall be no such vacuum if the Assembly members are not to form an electoral college for the purpose of electing the President. Lastly, the Constitution provides that if the number of candidates for election to the office of President exceeds three, the members of the three Assemblies shall jointly select three of the candidates for election. When the Assembly members have already a say in the selection of Presidential candidates it is not correct in principle to give these members the further' right to elect one of their Selected candidates to the office of President.

 17. Electoral college as envisaged in the Constitution with increased strength suitable. The Constitution of an electoral college composed of the members of the Assemblies being ruled out, it shall be necessary to have a college as envisaged in the Constitution with or without an increase in the number of members thereof. Opinions as regards the composition of an electoral college for Presidential election are divided. Some are in favor of retaining the number of Presidential electors at 80,000 as envisaged in the Constitution. Some others desire an increase of that number by 2 to 5 times or even more. Taking the population of Pakistan in 1959, at 8 crores, each union