PM-Speaker To Decide Who Opposition Will Be: Quader

The new prime minister and speaker will decide who the opposition party will be, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader said once again on Wednesday (January 10). 

Speaking after a meeting of the AL parliamentary party held at the Jatiya Sangsad after the oath-taking ceremony today, 

Quader said, "During the same meeting, Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury was nominated to be elected as the speaker. Shamsul Haque Tuku was nominated to be re-elected as the deputy speaker."

The party has also decided to make Begum Matia Chowdhury the deputy leader of the House, he added. Noor-E-Alam Chowdhury will be the chief whip, he said. 

Meanwhile, Jatiya Party Chairman and newly elected Member of Parliament from Rangpur-3 Golam Mohammad Quader said today that he was in the opposition party and wants to stay the same.

He said, "I don't know exactly what the rule is. But we were in opposition before and plan to be the opposition this time as well. We are public welfare-oriented and we want to do what is good for the people."

Jatiya Party secured only 11 seats this time compared to the 23 seats it bagged in the 2018 election.

The 12th national elections in Bangladesh threw a curveball, with independent candidates, mostly backed by the ruling AL, emerging as the second largest force in parliament, even surpassing the current main opposition Jatiyo Party. 

This development ignited heated discussions about who will be the new official opposition in the upcoming parliament.

At a post-election conference on 8 January, Quader had said, "The new prime minister, the new leader of the house, will decide who will be the opposition party, considering the current situation."