“13th National Assembly’s First Session Set for March 12”

The 13th National Assembly is scheduled to commence its first session on March 12. Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed announced this during a press briefing following a meeting with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Secretariat.
During the inaugural session of the 13th parliament, ordinances enacted by the interim government will be presented to the House.
The home minister mentioned that a formal request for the session will be forwarded from the National Assembly Secretariat to the president through the Prime Minister’s Office.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin will call the session into order in accordance with the constitutional provisions.
Sources at the National Assembly secretariat indicated that the 13th Parliament must convene its first session within 30 days of the newly elected MPs taking their oaths.
Since the Speaker of the 12th Parliament, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, has reportedly stepped down, a senior BNP leader is expected to chair the initial session of the parliament, as per an official from the parliament secretariat.
Following the commencement of the session, the Speaker and deputy Speaker will be elected and sworn in by the president.
After the election, a brief adjournment of 15 to 20 minutes is anticipated for the swearing-in ceremony.
Subsequently, the newly elected Speaker will preside over the parliamentary proceedings.
The Business Advisory Committee of the new parliament will be established during the first session, with the new Speaker leading the committee.
This committee will determine the duration of the inaugural session and other parliamentary agendas.
The primary focus of the ruling party during the initial session will be to introduce ordinances that the government intends to pass as laws.
The interim government introduced or modified a total of 130 ordinances during its 18-month term.
It is expected that the formation of standing committees for various ministries will take place in this session.
Additionally, an obituary motion will be adopted during the first sitting of the House.
The current parliament emerged from the national elections held on February 12, where the BNP-led coalition secured 212 seats, with the BNP alone winning 209 seats.
The Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance obtained 76 seats, with Jamaat securing 68 of those seats.