Dr Shirin Sharmin Choudhury and Mohammad Fazle Rabbi Miah have been elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker unanimously of the 10th Parliament on Wednesday at its first sitting on Wednesday with the outgoing deputy speaker Shawkat Ali in the chair.
The maiden session of 10th Parliament began in the absence of Awami League’s main rival BNP and its allies as they boycotted the January 5 general elections. Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Syed Ashraful Islam moved the motion for election of the new Speaker while Minister for Industries Amir Hossain Amu seconded it.
Minister for Commerce Tofail Ahmed moved the motion for election of the deputy Speaker which was seconded by Chief Whip ASM Firoz.
The House passed both the motions unanimously when the matters separately were placed before its for voting in accordance with the section 8 (4) of the Rules of Procedures.
The outgoing Deputy Speaker then adjourned the House for 20 minutes.
In the meantime, the newly elected Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and Deputy Speaker Advocate Fazle Rabbi Miah were sworn in at about 6:40pm. President Abdul Hamid administered the oath to them separately at his Parliament building chamber.
Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin, who has been elected country’s first woman Speaker for twice, took the oath first followed by her deputy Advocate Fazle Rabbi Miah.
Prime Minister and Leader of the House Sheikh Hasina and Chief Whip ASM Feroz, among others, witnessed their swearing in.
Later, the sitting of the day resumed with newly Speaker Shirin Sharmin Choudhury in the chair.
She expressed her gratitude to the Leader of the House to elect her the Speaker for the second time and greeted the newly elected lawmakers.
The Speaker hoped that the new Parliament would be able to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the people.
Greeting the new Speaker, Leader of the opposition and Jatiya Party leader Rawshan Ershad said they feel proud and honour that Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury has been elected Speaker.
She also thanked the prime minister to take steps to protect the constitutional obligation and continuity of democracy.
The opposition leader emphasised the need for working together to ensure the welfare of the people and give democracy an institutional shape.
She termed boycotting the January 5 elections by the BNP as regretful and said it would good it they participated in it.
The Jatiya Party leader sought cooperation from the treasury bench to play her role as the opposition leader.
Rawshan indentified political impasse as the major problem in the country and called upon all concerned to leave the politics of vengeance.
Abdul Latif Siddiqui, chief whip ASM Firoz ASM Firoz, Ruhul Amin Hawlader of Jatiya Party, Moinuddin Khan Badal of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, among others, took part in the discussion.
The House adopted a condolence motion in the memories of the departed souls of the current and former lawmakers, national and international personalities who died between the last session of the previous Parliament and the new session of 10th Parliament.
Earlier, a brief discussion was held on the memory of AL lawmaker Shawkat Momen Shajahan who died on January 20.
Several lawmakers including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took part in the discussion and they recalled the memory of the late lawmaker.
Meanwhile, the nominated a 5-member panel of chairman to preside over the sessions in absence of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker in the House.
They are: Abul Kalam Azad, Ashiqur Rahman, Sahara Khatun, Nurul Islam Suzon and AKM Maidul Islam.
The Speaker nominated them as per the rules of business section 12 (1) of Parliament.
Earlier in the morning, Dr Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, who has been elected MP unopposed in the by-poll of Rangpur-6 constituency, took oath at Parliament Bhaban in the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Strong security measures have been taken to mark the first session of the new Parliament. – Staff Reporter
