First Session of 13th Parliament begins

The first session of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad began shortly after 11:00am on Thursday (March 12).

The proceedings opened with the recitation of the Holy Quran. Shortly before 11:15am, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman addressed the House.

BNP Standing Committee member and veteran politician Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain is presiding over the first sitting on the opening day of the 13th National Parliament’s inaugural session. 

The Speaker’s chair, however, remained vacant as the new Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the parliament have yet to be determined.

Ahead of the session, both ruling party and opposition lawmakers held separate parliamentary party meetings on Wednesday.

During his party’s meeting, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman outlined his party’s position and indicated plans to implement the July Charter while noting a “note of dissent”.

Opposition lawmakers, aligned with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party, demanded the full implementation of the July Charter as approved through a referendum.

Differences have emerged between the two sides over several key issues, including the structure of a proposed caretaker government system, the formation process of the parliament’s upper chamber, and appointment procedures for certain constitutional bodies.