Roundtable hopes 13th Parliament would emerge as a milestone

Roundtable on current Parliament held at a local hotel on Wednesday 13 May 2026

GreenWatch Desk

The performance of the 13th Parliament came under review at a roundtable in Capital Dhaka on Wednesday with some speakers calling it a milestone, some others refusing to call it as such in just three months of its tenure holding one session so far.

Yet some other speakers said the new Parliament made up of warrior of the anti-fascist movement should be given accolades to succeed in its mission. 

The roundtable organised by the Citizens Forum however missed a deep undercurrent that the newly elected Parliament faced, a walk out at the first sitting and the very first session ended with a deadlock clearly visible with the opposition refusing to nominate its proportionate number of members to a special committee on constitutional amendment proposed by the government.

Prof. Borhanuddin Khan, in his keynote address called the new Parliament a milestone,

AL is not represented as it could not take part in the election. JP did take part but did not win any seat. In the previous parliaments BNP and Jamaat were absent, he said. 

The new Parliament has more than 260 new members. A new party NCP has taken part in the 2026 election and got six seats, the youngest member being below 25.

We saw new development in oath taking some took one oath some others two oaths. Out of 133 ordinances of the Interim Government, 97 were passed as laws. Some of those not passed would come as bills again.

Khan said the new legislative body is empowered by Artilce 142 as well as  the July Declaration Implementation Order to amend the Constitution. It also stipulates that Constitution amendment will be automatically passed if not done in 180 days.  

Prof Mahbubullah the key discussant said that it is too early to say if the Parliament is milestone in democratic politics. We should allow some time to pass and see how the parties function. I can see the situation may turn complex. The government partly exercises power partly under the 1972 constitution and partly under the legitimacy brought by the July change with people's support. It's difficult to do correct calculations under such circumstances.

Many problems will arise out of governance with power partly under constitution, partly beyond constitution at a time when worldwide democracy is on the wane, Dr. Mahbubullah said.

He said,  we carry the legacy of a dangerous autocracy. On this the first session faced debate which should have been avoided. 

The adoption of 133 ordinance cum reforms were not all. A large and strong middle class needed for democracy to succeed. The society has serious economic disparities. The marginalized ones can't take part in democratic activities. The disparity should be done away with. It's not clear if mafia rule will not return and there is no clear signs to steer clear of this danger.

We should be practical and should not raise high expectations. It's not wise to call milestone. Return of fascists can be resisted only if proper measures can be taken for the march to democracy against fascits.

Badiul Alam Majumder of SUJAN said that the experience of governments with two-thirds majority, 5 times so far since 2001, has not been good. On none of those occasions did governments complete their terms.

Morning shows the day. What needs to be done to avoid failure should be the concern now. Oligarchs should not return. Last government was supra-constitutional alhough the July uprising did not abrogate the Constitution. But this marked departure from the prevailing order.

Majumder said quite a number of important ordinances have not been approved in the present Parliament. We wait to see the assurance of making better laws in their place, he said. 

MPs, party people crowding local government bodies is also violation of the Constitution. We are sitting on blood and can't afford to fail, he said.

Abul Hasan Chowdhury, former state minister, made mention of the spirit of coperation and comradiere seen between two benches during the first session and said the beginning has been good.

Dr. Kamrul Ahsan, VC Jahangirnagr University said that the last political government failed us. We don't want the government that succeeded the July uprising to fail. Let's also sound words of encouragement, he added.

Pro-democracy activist Shahidul Alam, said calling present Parliament a milestone was too early, because a milestone has to have a start and an end.  He raised questions like where is freedom of media. Where is freedom of opposition who have no representation. 

Nasim Ferdous, former ambassadors made a plea for greater role for women in politics and said power given to MPs to control local government bodies would affect women who have greater participation in local government bodies.

Mardia Mumtaz, MP, Assistant Secretary General of Jamaat, Advocate Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, daily Jugantar editor Abdul Hye Sikdar, and M Abdullah of Amar Desh also spoke at the roundtable moderated by Dr. Isharaf Hossain.

Dr. Sakhawat Hossain, Dean, Bangladesh Medical University praised the performance of the new Parliament.

Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Zubait said, the trend in respect of doing reforms is not good. Opposition will not join the govt initiated special committee on constitution amendment. These are sad and matters of concern. Parliament proceedings should not turn worse and the govt not turn autocratic as in the past, he added.

Atiqur Rahman Mujahid, MP from NCP said that those who fought fascism have been elected in the Parliament. The culture of mutual appreciation that was gone in the recent past has started coming back. 

He said that Constitution Reform Council is an issue that may lead to undemocratic outbursts. We hope there will be a vibrant Parliament, he added.

Dr. Abdul Moyeen Khan, MP, and member of BNP standing committee said, we successfully removed fascism, and got a new Parliament elected. We had more than 97 ordinances passed but how much was our participation in the actual enactment of the laws, he asked. JS created after long sacrifice should succeed at all costs. Eternal vigilance is the price of democracy, he remarked. 

Dr. Khan called for balance between majority which wins the vote and minority whose opinion needs to be given weight. . 

If we can strengthen democratic institutions that will be the success of present Parliament.

Prof. Anwarullah Chowdhury in his presidential address said that the July change was  neither second independence nor a revolution but a mass upsurge and renaissance.

Prof Dr. Mamun Ahmed, Chairman, University Grants Commission gave the vote of thanks