Bangladesh Oppn ends year-long boycott of Parliament

Bangladesh Oppn ends year-long boycott of Parliament
AGENCE FRANCE PRESS

The Bangladesh Opposition Tuesday ended its nearly one-year-long boycott of Parliament. Deputy speaker Abdul Hamid welcomed Opposition MPs as they entered the chamber, nearly 30 minutes after the 330-member house began the day's session. "I welcome all members of the Opposition back to the house," Hamid said in a live radio broadcast.

There was no reaction to the Opposition move from the ruling Awami League of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed.

The Opposition on Saturday decided to end the boycott following an unscheduled meeting by the chiefs of four major Opposition parties. The four-party Opposition alliance, led by former Prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), reportedly decided to end the boycott to ensure their seats would not be lost.

The law states that an absence from sittings for more than 90 continuous days would result in an MP losing his parliamentary seat. The Opposition started their boycott claiming they were not allowed to speak in parliament, a charge which speaker Humayun Rasheed Chowdhury has denied. The four-party Opposition alliance is seeking to force Sheikh Hasina to step down and hold new elections. She was elected for a five-year term in 1996 and general elections are likely sometime in the first half of next year.