13th Parliament’s First Session Likely on March 12: Home Minister

The first session of Bangladesh’s newly elected 13th Parliament is expected to be held on March 12, or possibly a day or two earlier, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said on Friday.

The home minister shared the information in a post on his verified Facebook page. He said the speaker and deputy speaker of the House will be elected during the inaugural session.

He added that ordinances issued during the interim government’s tenure will be placed before parliament, and a condolence motion will also be moved.

According to the Constitution, the president must summon the first session of a newly elected parliament within 30 days of the election results being gazetted, based on written advice from the prime minister.

The national election and a referendum were held on 12 February, and the results were officially gazetted on 13 February. Newly elected members of parliament took their oaths the same day, making it mandatory to convene the first session before 14 March.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has been appointed parliamentary leader, and the government has already begun functioning. However, the ruling party has yet to elect a speaker, deputy leader, and chief whip.

On the opposition side, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Shafiqur Rahman has been named leader of the opposition, with Syed Abdullah Md Taher as deputy leader and Nahid Islam of the National Citizen Party as chief whip.

The deputy speaker is expected to be chosen from the opposition benches, in line with the July National Charter.

As per constitutional procedure, the president will deliver the opening speech after cabinet approval, followed by a debate. Until the speaker and deputy speaker are elected, a senior member is expected to preside, following parliamentary precedent set in 1973.

Out of 300 parliamentary seats, voting was held in 299. Two seats in Chattogram remain undecided due to court orders, while voting in Sherpur-3 was postponed following the death of a candidate.

Of the 297 decided seats, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party won 209, its allies secured three, Jamaat-e-Islami 68, National Citizen Party six, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis three, Islami Andolan one, and seven independents were elected.