The parliamentary party of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has entrusted Prime Minister and Leader of the House Tareq Rahman with the responsibility of finalizing candidates for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker positions of the 13th National Parliament. The decision was made during a BNP parliamentary meeting held at the National Parliament building on Wednesday. Chief Whip Nurul Islam confirmed the decision at a press conference following the meeting. The first session of the 13th Parliament is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. tomorrow, during which the elections for Speaker and Deputy Speaker will take place.

According to the Chief Whip, the session will begin with the Speaker’s chair vacant, followed by a recitation from the Holy Quran. The Leader of the House will then propose a senior member to preside over the session, whose nomination will be seconded by another member. Additionally, 133 ordinances issued during the interim government will be presented in Parliament, and a special committee including both government and opposition members will be formed to review them.

Nurul Islam added that the Prime Minister had offered the Deputy Speaker post to the opposition, but no positive response had been received so far.