- Parliament previously continue without the opposition
- Independents can join any party if they want
- 25 seats needed to recognize opposition
The ruling party Awami League (AL) has won an absolute majority in the 12th parliamentary elections. The party is going to form the government for the fourth time in a row. Sheikh Hasina is going to be the Prime Minister for the fifth time. The cabinet will be formed tomorrow after the swearing-in of the elected MPs today.
However, there are various discussions about the opposition in the parliament. Even the top officials of the ruling party are not saying anything clearly about this. AL won 223 seats, Jatiyo Party (JaPa) 11 and independent candidates won 62 seats. In terms of numbers, independent MPs are six times more than the JaPa. That is why many questions have been raised about this issue.
On the other hand, since the independent MPs are not from any party, it is not certain that they can also sit in the opposition. The issue is a new issue for everyone as such a situation has not been created in the last 11 parliaments. It is understood that after the elected MPs are sworn in today, initiatives will be taken to fix the matter.
Analysts said that even if the JaPa is the opposition party in the end, the question remains about how morally pure it will be as the JaPa did not have to be elected by competing with the ruling party candidates in the new parliament. As part of the seat compromise, the boat candidates were withdrawn from 26 seats for JaPa so that they could win easily. In that sense, the JaPa did not have to face the ruling party candidates in the voting field. Moreover, it is not easy for the party to perform the duties of the opposition as the party has been in politics as an ally of AL for a long time. On the other hand, MPs who have been elected as independent candidates are not yet organized. However, these independent MPs were elected by facing the AL and JaPa MPs in the field. There was no seat agreement with them. Although 62 people were elected in this way, there is uncertainty about this as there is no political party.
According to section 2 (1) (k) of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament, "Leader of the Opposition means, in the opinion of the Speaker, who is the leader of the party or affiliate in Parliament, as the case may be, consisting of the maximum number of members opposing the ruling party in Parliament."
Former law minister Shafique Ahmed said, "Although there are 62 independent MPs, there is no scope for them to be the opposition alone. But they can support any other party in parliament. The party that has the most support will be the opposition. And independent candidates can form an alliance separately, then they can also be the opposition party as to how many people will be in that alliance. The decision of the opposition and the leader of the opposition is taken according to the rules of procedure of the parliament."
In the parliament formed after the first national election in 1973, no one sat in the seat of the leader of the opposition. AL alone got 293 out of 300 seats. JSD and Bangladesh Jatiya League got one seat each. The remaining five seats were won by independent MPs. They urged the Speaker to appoint Jatiya League leader Ataur Rahman Khan as their leader and give him the status of the leader of the opposition. However, Leader of the House Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman objected that a political party must have at least 25 seats to be recognised as an opposition party. Otherwise, they can be called a parliamentary group, but not an opposition party.
The same thing happened in the parliament formed after the election of 15 February 1996 amid a boycott by the AL, JaPa, Jamaat-e-Islami and leftist parties. The BNP was shown to have won 278 seats in that election. Independent candidates won 10 seats while Freedom Party leader Khandaker Abdur Rashid, the killer of Bangabandhu, won one. In 10 of the remaining 11 seats, no winner was shown. In one, the vote was suspended. The tenure of that parliament was 11 days, the parliament was dissolved by passing the caretaker government bill according to the demand of AL. Rashid sits in the seat where the Leader of the Opposition sits in Parliament. However, it is not clear whether he was made the leader of the opposition. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman, who was elected MP from Dhaka-1 constituency, thinks that there is no need for opposition in parliamentary politics.
Of those who were elected as independent candidates, 59 are involved in AL politics. There are also indications that many of them are not ready to portray themselves as opponents of their party AL in parliament. Pankaj Nath, who won as an independent candidate, has won the Barishal-4 constituency twice with boat. "Sheikh Hasina is my guardian. I will stay the way he asks me to stay in Parliament. If he asks for an alliance among independents, I will go, otherwise I will stay separately. You will find many who can express the same attitude as Pankaj."
According to legal experts, if independent candidates want to join the ruling party AL in parliament and sit in the ruling party's seat, they have that opportunity. Even if they join the ruling party, their MPs will not be canceled. However, AL leaders commented on the issue of independent candidates, what is in the law, where are the complexities, they are being scrutinized. Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq said the opposition parties in the 12th Jatiya Sangsad will be decided after seeing the position of the winning independent candidates. The law minister said this while talking to reporters at his secretariat office yesterday.
The 12th parliamentary election was held on Sunday. So far, unofficial results for 298 seats have been received. Of these, the ruling AL won 222 seats. Workers Party and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), two allies of the AL-led 14-party alliance, won one each. They voted with AL's party symbol boat. After the AL, the current main opposition JaPa (JaPa) has got the most seats in the parliament. The party won only 11 seats. Independent candidates won 62 seats. Except for three of them, the rest are involved in AL politics.
ARS
