Uncertainty over who to chair first sitting remains

The first session of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad is likely to begin on March 12, with the election of the speaker and deputy speaker scheduled to take place during the sitting.

Home minister Salahuddin Ahmed disclosed the date on Sunday after a meeting with prime minister Tarique Rahman at the Secretariat.

‘The gazette notification convening the session must be issued at least 15 days in advance. The summary will be sent from the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat to the Prime Minister’s Office and then forwarded to the president, who will convene the session on the advice of the prime minister. The date has been fixed for March 12,’ Salahuddin told reporters after the meeting.

The home minister said that ordinances promulgated during the tenure of the interim government would be placed before the House once proceedings begin.

Uncertainty, however, remains over who will preside over the opening sitting as the speaker of the previous Jatiya Sangsad, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, resigned in September 2024 and has reportedly been in hiding since then. Deputy speaker Shamsul Haque Tuku is now in jail in several cases filed after the ouster of the Awami League regime.

According to article 74 of the constitution, despite resignation, the speaker and the deputy speaker shall be deemed to continue to hold office until his successor has entered upon office.

A condolence motion and the president’s address are also on the agenda, he said.

Under the constitution, the president addresses the first session of a new parliament, and the speech is approved by the cabinet beforehand. Lawmakers then hold discussions on the address throughout the session.

When asked who would preside over the first sitting, Salahuddin Ahmed did not provide an answer.

The constitution requires the president to convene 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 election 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 oath on February 17.

Prime minister Tarique Rahman, who also chairs the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has already been elected leader of the House, and the new government under his leadership has begun functioning.

However, the party has yet to name its nominees for the posts of speaker, deputy leader of the House, or chief whip.

On the opposition benches, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami amir Shafiqur Rahman 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.

After the fall of the Awami League regime on August 5, 2024, amid a mass uprising, former speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury resigned in September 2024. She has reportedly been in hiding since then.

Deputy speaker Shamsul Haque Tuku was arrested in several cases after the ouster of the Awami League regime.

In their absence, chief election commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin administered the oath to newly elected lawmakers 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 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.

The 13th Jatiya Sangsad election 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 others.