The Speaker of the 13th National Parliament Hafiz Uddin Ahmed Bir Bikrom on Thursday nominated a five-member presidium to conduct parliamentary sessions in the absence of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
He announced the panel during the first session of the National Parliament on March 12.
The members nominated to the panel are: Mirza Abbas Uddin Ahmed, MP for Dhaka-8; Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, MP for Dhaka-2; Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, MP for Narsingdi-1; Mohammad Monirul Haque Chowdhury, MP for Cumilla-6; and ATM Azharul Islam, MP for Rangpur-2.
According to the rules of procedure of the National Parliament, the Speaker must nominate a panel of five Members of Parliament at the beginning of each session and arrange their names in order of precedence. In the absence of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, the member present whose name appears highest on the list will take the chair and conduct the proceedings.
The rules further state that when the Deputy Speaker or any other member presides over a parliamentary session, they exercise the same powers as the Speaker. All powers granted to the Speaker under the rules apply equally to the person presiding over the session.
