Many Bangladesh MPs may lose membership

By Haroon Habib

DHAKA, JUNE 9. The Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament) of Bangladesh has been facing a crisis for a long time now with the lawmakers of the mainstream Opposition parties abstaining from its proceedings despite repeated efforts by the Government to bring them back.

The prolonged abstention has created a big worry for a large number of MPs belonging to these parties as they are in danger of losing their membership of the House.

Article 67 (b) of the Bangladesh Constitution says that an MP will lose his/her seat for abstaining from Parliament without leave of the House for 90 consecutive days of sitting. Parliament records show that a large number of MPs, including the Leader of the Opposition, Begum Khaleda Zia, and the Jatiya Party chairman, Gen. H. M. Ershad, have been abstaining for long periods.

The Awami League Government led by the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, presented its fifth budget in Parliament on Thursday amidst the boycott by the Opposition which had not attended the House even during last year's budget presentation.

Observers say that the ruling party may be trying new tactics, after repeated failures, to bring the Opposition back to the floor. Western representatives of donor countries have also been trying to persuade the alliance to return to Parliament.

It is expected that the Speaker, Mr. Humayun Rasheed Chowdhury, will act according to the Constitution. As soon as the members cross the 90-day mark, Article 67(b) will automatically apply. The seat of an Opposition lawmaker, Mr. Shamsuddin Ahmed, was recently declared vacant by applying the provision.

Even as Opposition leaders criticised what they termed as the ``Government's blueprint'' to strip them of membership, the threat of Article 67(b) has caused panic in their camp. Press reports say that the back-benchers of the BNP and JP do not want to lose their membership, but their top leaders are sticking to their stance.

The Speaker, who has been the prime target of the Opposition ever since he assumed office, said the MPs had walked out of Parliament 89 times during the last three and a half years.

The Jatiya Party, at a meeting on June 4, decided to take up the matter with its alliance partners - the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, after the overwhelming majority of MPs supported attending the budget session. But there was no breakthrough. The BNP leadership, although facing pressure from its back-benchers to end the boycott, is yet to call its parliamentary party meeting.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : ECB's move boosts euro value
Next     : A legal setback for Suharto