The first sitting of the 13th parliament began at 11:05am on Thursday with a recitation from the Holy Quran at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, marking the start of a new legislative term a month after the parliamentary elections.
Veteran ruling party leader Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain presided over the sitting with unanimous support from lawmakers, amid changed political circumstances following the July Uprising 2024 and in the absence of the 12th parliament’s speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and deputy speaker Shamsul Haque Tuku.At around 10:55am, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman entered the parliament chamber, where lawmakers from both the treasury and opposition benches welcomed him by thumping their desks.
This was the first time Tarique Rahman entered the first session of parliament as a member of parliament.
He then proposed that parliament elect a member to begin the proceedings, nominating Mosharraf to preside over the House.
Following the proposal, BNP Secretary General and Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir supported the motion.
Deputy leader of the main opposition and Nayeb-e-Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher, also endorsed the proposal.
Expressing support for the nomination, Taher told parliament that the person proposed by the prime minister to preside over the House was a highly acceptable and experienced parliamentarian.
“We support him,” he said, though he added that such proposals would have been better if the government had consulted the opposition beforehand.
As lawmakers voiced their approval by thumping their desks, Mosharraf rose from the front row and moved toward the speaker’s chair.
The sergeant-at-arms then escorted him to the chair following parliamentary protocol.
According to the day’s agenda, the election of the speaker and deputy speaker will be held first.
The 13th parliament convened about 20 months after the formation of the interim government following the July Uprising in 2024.
The first day’s agenda includes elections to key constitutional posts, presentation of 133 ordinances issued during the interim government period, and an address by President Mohammed Shahabuddin.
According to the Parliament Secretariat, the session will also include the nomination of the presidium and the adoption of a condolence motion.
