The ninth parliament will have the highest number of sittings among all the previous parliaments with the last session convenes tomorrow.
Parliament Secretariat figures show that the current parliament has already had 394 sittings in the last 18 sessions – only six days less than the BNP-led eighth parliament (2001-2006).
The last session may continue till September 19 and after an adjournment for Durga Puja and Eid-ul-Azha will resume again on October 20 and run till October 24, Chief Whip Abdus Shahid told the Dhaka Tribune on Tuesday.
With this, it is almost obvious that this parliament is set to make a history in terms of sittings.
During the last 18 sessions, Prime Minister and Leader of the House Sheikh Hasina attended parliament 322 days out of 394 sittings, while the BNP chief turned up in 10 sittings, making her the lowest-attending leader of the opposition.
“I think the session may stretch after September 19 as the prime minister will not go to New York; but the decision will be taken at a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee tomorrow upon getting consent of the prime minister,” Shahid said.
“Time constraints will not allow us another session,” he added.
Meanwhile, the opposition led by BNP is not likely to join the last session.
However, Opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farroque told the Dhaka Tribune that they might join the session if BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia changed her mind.
The Business Advisory Committee meeting, headed by Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, is the forum that decides the tenure of every session.
The speaker on Tuesday sat with the officials of Parliament Secretariat and discussed about the probable tenure of the last session.
The officials informed her that three new bills had been submitted to the Secretariat for passage – Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University Bill 2013, Mandatory Use of Jute in Packaging (amendment) Bill 2013 and Overseas Employment and Immigration Bill 2013.
Besides, 13 more bills have been pending for enactment.
According to the constitution, the Election Commission must announce schedule of the 10th parliamentary elections after October 26 when the current Awami League-led ninth parliament will be 90 days off its five year mandate starting from January 25, 2009.
Parliament does not sit on Fridays and Saturdays; so the session is unlikely to sit on October 25 (Friday).
Countries following the Westminster form of government hold the general elections dissolving parliament.