Political observers say Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s announcement of stretching parliament after October 24 was aimed at diverting the BNP’s agitation over restoration of the non-party caretaker government system without which it has declared to boycott the polls.
Most of them said parliament would dissolve after the Election Commission announced the polls schedules.
“The Awami League’s announcement of stretching parliament sittings beyond October 24 is aimed at facing the BNP’s agitation programmes on October 25 and onwards,” said Prof Nizam Uddin Ahmed of Chittagong University.
“Continuation of parliament will divert the BNP to the demand for its dissolution from its present demand for a non-party caretaker government,” Prof Nizam told the Dhaka Tribune on Monday.
Nizam thinks parliament should be dissolved on October 24, but he said that would put Awami League leaders and activists in danger of attacks of BNP-Jamaat activists.
“With the debate turning stronger, the prime minister will dissolve parliament and tell people that she accepted the opposition’s demand and so, they should participate in the polls,” he said, but he did not predict any timeframe for this.
“This is indicative enough when the prime minister says parliament could go on unless the president dissolves it. The president cannot dissolve parliament without the prime minister’s suggestion,” he said.
According to the constitution, the current parliament’s five-year tenure ends on January 24 next year.
As per article 123 of the constitution, the next elections will have to take place within 90 days before the expiry of parliament’s tenure, but the charter has no directive on whether to dissolve parliament or keep it running during that period. The countdown for the 90 days starts from October 27.
Election Commission lawyer Dr Shahdin Malik told the Dhaka Tribune that he did not see anything unconstitutional or illegal in holding the sittings of parliament beyond October 24.
He, however, said the prime minister must make clear how long parliament would continue. “Otherwise, the Election Commission will have inconvenience announcing the polls schedules.”
Former election commissioner Sakhawat Hossain said the commission was free to announce the polls schedules but was bound to hold polls within 90 days – between October 27 and January 24 next year.
“The Election Commission can announce the polls schedules in November if they are done with some basic preparations,” he said.
Sakhawat said: “As soon as the polls schedules are announced, parliament will cease to exist.”
Senior Awami League lawmaker Suranjit Sengupta, however, told the Dhaka Tribune that announcement of the schedules “will not bring any change to the status of parliament as the Jatiya Sangsad is elected for five years.”
BNP Standing Committee member MK Anwar said: “The prime minister has shifted from her own announcement on no parliament after October 24; so, people cannot have trust in her.
“Elections cannot take place keeping parliament alive; no such instance exists in the world.”
He said the BNP was yet to decide whether to resign from parliament if the Jatiya Sangsad continued after October 24, which the main opposition thought the last day of the ninth parliament.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had earlier told parliament that the next polls could not take place keeping parliament alive.
