| National Assembly Jatiyo Sangshad জাতীয় সংসদ |
|
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | Unicameral |
| Leadership | |
| Speaker | Advocate Abdul Hamid |
| Deputy Speaker | Shawkat Ali |
| Members | 345 (45 seats reserved for women) |
| Elections | |
| Last election | 29 December 2008 |
| Meeting place | |
| Dhaka, Bangladesh | |
| Website | |
| http://www.parliament.gov.bd/ | |
| Bangladesh |
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Jatiya Sangsad (Bengali: জাতীয় সংসদ Jatio Shôngshod) or National Assembly is the national parliament of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 345 seats including 45 women reserved seats distributed on elected party position in the parliament, the occupants of which are called Members of Parliament or MPs. The last 9th National Parliamentary Election was held on December 29, 2008 and, under normal conditions, elections are called every five years.
The leader of the party (or alliance of parties) holding the majority of seats is the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, and so the head of the government. The President of Bangladesh, who is the ceremonial head of state, is chosen by Parliament.
The parliament itself is housed in the Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban (জাতীয় সংসদ ভবন Jatio Shôngshod Bhôbon) designed by Louis Kahn.
The current majority party is the Bangladesh Awami League.
Contents |
Article 66 of the Constitution makes membership open to any citizen of Bangladesh and only Bangladesh (dual citizenship is open for civilians, but not MPs) above the age of 25.[1] Members are elected by direct polls in their respective constituencies, and whoever wins the most vote, regardless of turnout or proportion, wins. Members are elected for a tenure of 5 years;[1] the entire Parliament dissolves 5 years after the swear-in. Members can be re-elected indefinitely, and can be independent or contest through a political party.
Members must not have served time in prison for more than 2 years to be eligible, unless they served this period 5 years prior to the elections.[1]
Article 67[1] states that members absent without leave for 90 consecutive sitting days will lose their membership. Any ambiguity regarding membership will be resolved by the Bangladesh Election Commission, and attending sessions without membership (even if memberships are cancelled in retrospect) amounts to a BDT1,000 ($14) fine per day, per Article 69.[1]
Article 70 of the Constitution makes floor crossing illegal,[1][2] and members engaging in floor crossing loses their membership.[1]
Floor crossing is described in the Constitution as:[1]
The only case of floor crossing in Bangladesh was when majority members M A Mannan and Mahi B. Chowdhury defected to form a new party Bikolpo Dhara.[3] Fresh by-elections were held soon after the seats were vacated; Mahi B. Chowdhury retained his seat under the new party, whereas Mannan failed.
Most candidates are elected by the funding, support and brand name of the party, and therefore, resignation from the party voids the choice of the people.[2] The prime objective of banning floor crossing is to prevent members from joining other parties for personal gains.[2] This is crucial in marginal majorities, where a few majority members voting against the majority essentially changes the government party in power.[2]
The ban on floor crossing stunts the members from speaking out against bad policies pitched by their party.[2] This is considered harmful for parliamentary democracy, as the ban forces members to agree with their party leaders regardless of their own opinions or the opinions of their constituents.[2]
Article 71 of the Constitution allows eligible people to be candidates in more than one constituency.[1] However, if elected from multiple seats, the member must vacate all but one seat.[4]
It is usually the custom for prominent politicians, especially party leaders.[5] During the last election Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina, prominent AL figure (and current President of Bangladesh) Zillur Rahman, BNP leader Khaleda Zia and Jatiya Party leader H M Ershad all were candidates in the maximum possible number of constituencies.[4]
The President of Bangladesh appoints a cabinet with the Prime Minister and other ministers from among the Members.[1] The Prime Minister must be a parliamentarian, and so must at least 90% of the Ministers.[6][7] The President must appoint a Prime Minister who, in his opinion, commands the confidence of the majority of the House.[7] The cabinet remains answerable to the Parliament.[1]
The President of Bangladesh is elected by the Parliament through an open ballot voting.[8] As a result, opposition party seldom pitches a candidate and the government-party nominee is uncontested. Current President Zillur Rahman[9] and former Presidents Iajuddin Ahmed[10], A. Q. M. Badruddoza Chowdhury[11] and Shahabuddin Ahmed[12] were all elected Presidents unopposed. The Parliament can also impeach the President by a two-third majority,[1] although no President has ever been impeached in the past.[13]
The Parliament can form parliamentary standing committees as it sees fit, for the purposes of examining bills, reviewing law enforcements and any other matter of public importance.[1] The de facto power of the committees have always been nominal; the de jure power too is ambiguous,[14] especially after the Supreme Court ruled that is was not answerable to summons from parliamentary committees.[15]
Article 78 of the Constitution provides immunity to the speeches, actions and votes of the Members done within parliamentary sessions, and hold members not answerable for any such actions to the court.[1] The parliament itself is vested the power to provide indemnity to anybody in service of the nation under Article 46.[1] This allowed the 2nd parliament in 1979 to ratify the Indemnity Ordinance that provided indemnity to the murderers of Sheikh Mujib.
| Legislature | Majority | Leader of House | Opposition | Opposition Leader | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Parliament | Awami League | Sheikh Mujibur Rahman | None | None | No other political party won more than 1 seat |
| 2nd Parliament | BNP | Ziaur Rahman | Awami League | None | Opposition was too factioned to elect a leader |
| 3rd Parliament | Jatiya Party | H M Ershad | Awami League | Sheikh Hasina | |
| 4th Parliament | Jatiya Party | H M Ershad | Coalition opposition | A. S. M. Abdur Rab | Rab was dubbed Ershad's domesticated Opposition Leader,[16] since all major parties had boycotted the elections, and Ershad pitched the coalition opposition to give his regime legitimacy. |
| 5th Parliament | BNP | Khaleda Zia | Awami League | Sheikh Hasina | |
| 6th Parliament | BNP | Khaleda Zia | Bangladesh Freedom Party | None | |
| 7th Parliament | Awami League | Sheikh Hasina | BNP | Khaleda Zia | |
| 8th Parliament | BNP | Khaleda Zia | Awami League | Sheikh Hasina | |
| 9th Parliament | Awami League | Sheikh Hasina | BNP | Khaleda Zia |
The current speaker of the House is Advocate Abdul Hamid,[17] with Shawkat Ali as his deputy.[17]