B'desh parliament to open maiden session with speaker’s chair vacant

DHAKA: (Mar 12) Bangladesh’s new parliament is set to convene its maiden session on Thursday, with the speaker’s chair remaining vacant.

Former Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury resigned in September 2024 after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster, while deputy speaker Shamsul Haque was jailed, though both were meant to remain until the new parliament met.

“The parliament’s (opening) sitting will start keeping the speaker’s seat vacant,” ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) lawmaker and Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni told reporters on Wednesday.