The government must amend a law to elect the 50 women MPs from the reserved seats before the 10th parliament’s inaugural session starting on January 29.
In case of its decision against amending the Jatiya Sangsad (reserved women MPs) Election Act-2004, the incumbent speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury will be in no position to be re-elected.
According to the parliament’s rules of procedure, the first job of Shirin Sharmin, who was not elected MP in the January 5 poll, on January 29 will be to elect a new speaker and hand over the charge immediately since there is no other way for her to be elected to a second term.
According to section 3 (1) of the election act, the election commission must prepare the list of MPs elected from the general seats in 30 working days since the publication of results through gazette notification.
A sub-section (9) of the same section further says the commission will display the list on the next working day after the expiry of the deadline.
The election commission published the gazette notification of poll results on January 8, putting itself under the obligation to display the list of MPs, who will elect the women MPs in parliament if necessary, on February 23.
Meanwhile, two Awami League MPs – Suranjit Sengupta and Israfil Alam – have suggested promulgating an ordinance to change the law and allowing the election of women MPs ahead of the January 29 sitting.
But the suggestion drew a lukewarm response from the prime minister on the ground that such a move might give the impression that the amendment was aimed at making Shirin Sharmin the speaker again, party insiders told the Dhaka Tribune.
However, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury has reportedly also rejected the idea of amending the law, fearing controversy in the political circle.
“I do not hanker after posts,” she reportedly told one of her party MPs who suggested telling the prime minister to amend the act.
