Dhaka, February 23 President Mohammad Shahabuddin has called for the first session of the 13th Parliament on March 12, nearly a month after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) formed the government following its victory in the crucial general elections on February 12.
"The President convened the session exercising the authority vested in him under Article 72(1) of the Constitution of Bangladesh," a Jatiya Sangsad statement said.
It said the first sitting of the maiden session of the new parliament, with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) holding a two-thirds majority and the far-right Jamaat-e-Islami being the main opposition, would begin at 11 am.
BNP spokesman and home minister in Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's cabinet, Salahuddin Ahmed, had earlier said that the session would elect a new speaker.
The BNP formed the government on February 17, five days after the parliamentary elections.
The Bangladesh Constitution dictates that President Shahabuddin must convene the inaugural session of the newly elected parliament within 30 days of the gazette notification of election results, based on written advice from Rahman.
However, it remains unclear who would chair the inaugural sitting of the maiden parliamentary session, as the standard practice demands that the speaker or, in his/her absence, the deputy speaker, preside over it solely for the purpose of electing a new Speaker.
Speaker Shirin Sharmin Choudhury resigned earlier and is now reportedly residing in an undisclosed location, while deputy speaker Shamsul Haque Tuku is in jail.
