The 13th Jatiya Sangsad begins its first session on Thursday in an unusual setting: the Speaker’s chair will be empty when proceedings start.
Although the parliament is scheduled to elect a new Speaker and Deputy Speaker on the opening day, the session itself will begin without either office-holder presiding.
The rare situation has emerged after the collapse of the previous parliament’s leadership following the political upheaval that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government last year.
An unusual opening to parliament
Under normal practice, the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the outgoing parliament presides over the inaugural sitting of the newly elected parliament.
But former Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury resigned after the government fell in August, while the former Deputy Speaker Shamsul Haque Tuku is currently in jail as an accused in a case.
With both posts effectively vacant, the new parliament will open through an alternative procedure set out in parliamentary rules.
According to BNP leaders, Leader of the House Tarique Rahman will begin the session with a brief opening speech and then nominate a senior member of parliament to preside temporarily.
How the session will unfold
Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni explained the process after the BNP parliamentary party meeting chaired by Tarique Rahman.
The proceedings will begin with a recitation from the Holy Quran, after which the leader of the house will propose the name of a senior MP to chair the session temporarily. Another MP will second the proposal.
The nominated member will then preside over the session and oversee the election of the new Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
According to Article 74 of the Constitution, parliament must elect both office-holders from among its members at the first sitting after a general election.
If there is only one candidate for each post, they can be elected by voice vote.
After the election, the session will briefly adjourn so that President Mohammed Shahabuddin can administer the oath to the newly elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker at the parliament building.
The session will then resume under the chairmanship of the new Speaker.
Busy first day ahead
Once the new Speaker takes charge, the parliament will move quickly into its legislative agenda.
Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni said the day’s programme will include:
Formation of a five-member panel of chairmen
Placement of 133 ordinances issued during the interim government
Formation of parliamentary committees
Discussion of a condolence motion
The President’s address to parliament
A special parliamentary committee will be created to examine the ordinances and recommend which ones should remain in force and which should lapse.
Political backdrop
The session comes after the February 12 national election, where the BNP secured more than a two-thirds majority, allowing it to form the government.
The gazette announcing the elected members was published on February 13, and Tarique Rahman was sworn in as prime minister on February 17 after being chosen as parliamentary party leader.
The new parliament is also notable for its large number of newcomers. Parliamentary observers estimate that around 76 per cent of MPs are first-time members, making it one of the most dramatically reshaped legislatures in the country’s history.
Debate over the Deputy Speaker post
Traditionally, both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker are chosen from the ruling party. However, the July National Charter, introduced during the interim government’s reform process, proposed that the Deputy Speaker post be held by the opposition.
The BNP had offered the position to Jamaat-e-Islami, the main opposition party in the current parliament.
But Jamaat declined the offer.
Party Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar said the party wanted the issue of implementing the July Charter reforms to be settled first before accepting such a position.
A historic session
With an empty Speaker’s chair at the start, a new ruling party in power and a parliament dominated by first-time lawmakers, Thursday’s opening session is expected to be one of the most unusual and closely watched parliamentary beginnings in Bangladesh’s recent political history.