12th JS starts its journey today

The 12th parliament will hold its maiden session this afternoon, amid concerns from various quarters about whether the House of the Nation will truly represent the public's interests in the absence of a genuine opposition.

The session will begin at 3:00pm.

After much confusion about who will sit on the opposition bench -- the Jatiyo Party or the alliance of independent MPs -- the parliament secretariat in gazette notification on Sunday made it clear that JP Chairman GM Quader will be the opposition leader, meaning JP officially becomes the main opposition in parliament.

According to political analysts, it would not be possible for JP MPs to be real opposition lawmakers as they were elected in their seats in agreement with the ruling AL.

This also applies to MPs from the Workers' Party and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, who were elected after contesting the polls with AL's electoral symbol of "boat".

Prof Nizam Ahmed, parliamentary affairs expert, said the 12th national election was essentially Awami League versus Awami League-backed independents, with some seats compromised for the Jatiyo Party.

"As a result, the parliament will lack a genuine opposition. This seriously undermines democracy."

JP Secretary General Mujibul Haque Chunnu, however, yesterday said they will no longer play the role of a "domestic opposition" and will give constructive criticism of the government in parliament to gain acceptance as an opposition from the people.

The current parliament was formed following the January 7 election, which was boycotted by 16 of the 44 registered parties with the Election Commission. The polls saw only a 42 percent voter turnout.

The BNP and allies termed it "a dummy election" -- an allegation denied by AL.

Out of 299 seats, AL won 223, JP 11, Bangladesh Workers Party, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, and Bangladesh Kalyan Party one each, and independent candidates 62 seats.

58 of the independent candidates were ruling party leaders.