President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Monday summoned the first session of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad at 11:00am on March 12 in the Parliament House at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka.
According to a statement issued by the Bangladesh Parliament Secretariat on the day, the president has invoked his authority under article 72(1) of the constitution to convene the session.
The constitution requires the president to summon the first session of a new parliament within 30 days of the publication of the election gazette, based on the written advice of the prime minister.
The 13th parliamentary elections and referendum were held on February 12, and the gazette of elected members was published the following day.
Accordingly, the first session must be held by March 14.
Newly elected lawmakers took the oath on February 17.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairman Tarique Rahman was on February 17 elected leader of the house. The new government under his leadership has begun functioning.
However, the party has yet to name its nominee for speaker, deputy leader of the house or chief whip.
On the opposition benches, Shafiqur Rahman, amir of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, has been elected leader of the opposition.
Jamaat leader Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher has been chosen as deputy leader of the opposition, while National Citizen Party convener Md Nahid Islam has been elected opposition whip.
Uncertainty remained over who would preside over the opening sitting.
After the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, 2024 amid a mass uprising, the previous Jatiya Sangsad speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury resigned in September, while deputy speaker Shamsul Haque Tuku was arrested in several cases.
The previous speaker reportedly went into hiding after resignation.
According to artile 74 of the constitution, the speaker or the deputy speaker shall be deemed to continue to hold office until his or her successor has entered upon office.
In the absence of the speaker and deputy speaker, chief election commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin administered the oath to members on February 17.
The Rules of Procedure of Parliament do not clearly state whether the president may nominate an individual solely to preside over the first sitting, leaving officials at the secretariat unable to offer a definitive interpretation.
After the first parliamentary election in 1973, there was a precedent of the ruling and opposition parties jointly assigning a senior member to chair the opening sitting.
There was a speculation that a similar arrangement might be adopted this time, allowing the election of the speaker and deputy speaker to proceed under the chairmanship of a senior member, followed by the condolence motion and the president’s address on the first day.
Voting was held in 299 of the 300 constituencies on February 12. Following a court order, results for two seats in Chattogram remain pending, while polling in Sherpur-3 was suspended due to the death of a candidate.
Of the 297 declared seats, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party secured 209, with its allies winning three more.
Jamaat-e-Islami won 68 seats, while its 11-party alliance partners, including the National Citizen Party, secured nine seats.
Islami Andolon Bangladesh won one seat, and independent candidates claimed seven other seats.
