Election by Jan 24

The general elections will be organised any time between Oct 25 this year and Jan 24 next as per the Constitution, Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury has said.

On Thursday afternoon, the Business Advisory Committee decided the 19th session of the ninth Parliament will run through to Oct 24.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was present at the BAC meeting chaired by Speaker Chaudhury.

Neither Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia nor her allies were present at the meeting.

Opposition BNP had already said it would not attend the session.

The government’s tenure will end on Jan 24 next year.

“The general election will take place within the last 90 days of the government. The Parliament session will run until Oct 24,” the Speaker said in her welcome speech.

“In this case, the national election will be held any time between Oct 25 and Jan 24,” Chaudhury said, citing sub-section 3(a) of Section 123 of the Constitution.

Thursday’s session commenced amid a political standoff between the two major political alliances over the nature of the government that would oversee the general election.

Ruling Awami League has asked the opposition to place its demand, if any, in Parliament.

Speaker Chaudhury said initiatives would be taken in this last session to pass important bills.

She hoped the last session would be effective with the constructive debate and discussion of the ruling and opposition parties.

She sought everyone’s assistance in keeping the development of democracy uninterrupted.

‘Sitting every day’

The BAC meeting decided to hold daily sittings from 5pm to 9pm. A general discussion will be held on Sept 15 on the International Day of Democracy.

A media statement from the Parliament Secretariat said the Speaker will adjourn sessions ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha, Durga Puja, and other important occasions.

File Photo

Deputy Speaker Shawkat Ali, Deputy Leader of Parliament Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Chief Whip Md Abdus Shahid, Minister without Portfolio Suranjit Sengupta, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Tofail Ahmed, Md Fazle Rabbi Mia, Rashed Khan Menon and Abdul Matin Khasru took part in the meeting.

Technocrat Law Minister Shafique Ahmed attended it on special invitation.

ABM Golam Mostofa, Shahiduzzaman Sarkar, Mujibul Haq Chunnu, ZIM Mostofa Ali and Ashrafunessa Mosharraf have been nominated as Presidium members.

The person at the top of the list will preside over the session in the absence of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker.

Obituary motions

At the beginning of Thursday’s session, obituary motions were accepted on the deaths on Awami League MP Golam Shabur, former MP Muhammad Iqramul Haq, Shah Jahangir Kabir, AKM Hemayet Ullah Awrangzeb, Khalilur Rahman Chowdhury and Abdul Wahhab Khan.

Taking part in the obituary motion, Leader of the House Hasina said, “We are losing one member or the other and have to accept mourning proposals.”

Hasina said the death of Golam Sabur had been a great loss for his locality and the Awami League had suffered a big blow.

Awami League’s Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, ASM Firoz, Shahriar Alam and Jatiya Party’s ABM Ruhul Amin Hawladar took part in the obituary motions.