Parliament on Tuesday elected Dr Shirin Sharmin Choudhury as the country’s first female Speaker unopposed in the absence of the opposition MPs.Dr Shirin Sharmin’s name was proposed by Jute and Textiles Minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui which was seconded by Shagufta Yasmin.
Acting Speaker Shawkat Ali, who was in the chair, conducted the election.
The lawmakers present in the House said ‘Yes’ in chorus when the acting Speaker asked them to give their vote in the electoral process. None was there to say ‘No’.
After taking the voice vote, acting Speaker Shawkat Ali declared Dr Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury as the Speaker as the lawmakers thumped their desks.
Earlier, on Monday night, Awami League Parliamentary Party (ALPP) unanimously nominated Dr Shirin Sharmin for the post of Speaker.
The Speaker’s office in Parliament had been lying vacant since former Speaker Abdul Hamid was sworn-in as President on April 24.
Deputy Speaker Shawkat Ali became the acting Speaker when the Speaker was made the acting President on March 14.
Dr Shirin, a Commonwealth scholar, did her Doctor of Philosophy in Law from the University of Essex, United Kingdom in 2000. Her thesis was on “The Right to Life”. Her area of specialisation and her are Constitutional Law and Human Rights.
She did her LLM from Dhaka University in 1990 and LLB in 1989 and stood first class first in both.
A lawmaker from the women seat-31, Dr Shirin was enrolled as an Advocate, Bangladesh Bar Council in 1992 and enrolled in the High Court Division, Bangladesh Supreme Court in 1994.
In 2008, she enrolled in the Appellate Division, Bangladesh Supreme Court.
She is also member of Dhaka Bar Association and Supreme Court Bar Association. UNB
