Shamsul Haque Tuku elected new deputy speaker of parliament

The Pabna-1 MP is taking up the post after his predecessor, Fazle Rabbi Miah, died of cancer in a US hospital last month

Pabna-1 MP Shamsul Haque Tuku has been elected the new deputy speaker of the Bangladesh National Parliament.

The decision was made at the start of the 29th parliamentary session on Sunday.

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury called for nominations and Chief Whip Noor-e-Alam Chowdhury put forward the name of Tuku, a former state minister for home affairs. The nomination was supported by Md Qamrul Islam, a former state minister for law.

The proposal was then passed by a voice vote.

Parliament must elect a new deputy speaker within seven days after the position is vacated during a session, according to rules. If parliament is not in session, the new deputy speaker is elected at the beginning of the next session.

Fazle Rabbi, who was re-elected deputy speaker in 2019, died after a long battle with cancer at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York on Jul 22.

His death also left the Gaibandha-5 seat empty. The Election Commission will hold a by-election to the constituency on Oct 12.

Tuku will be sworn in as deputy speaker by President Md Abdul Hamid at the president’s chamber in parliament on Sunday evening.

Tuku was born in Pabna’s Bera Upazila in 1948 and is a former student of the University of Rajshahi. He joined the Mujib Bahini during the 1971 Liberation War. The Pabna Awami League leader was first elected to parliament in the 2008 election.

He first served as the state minister for power, energy and mineral resources and then as the state minister for home affairs.

Tuku, who is serving his third consecutive term as MP, was also the chief of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Home Affairs.