M A I N   N E W S

45 seats reserved for women in Bangladesh House

Dhaka, May 16
The Bangladesh parliament today amended the country’s Constitution, introducing a provision to reserve 45 additional seats in the House for women for the next 10 years.

With the passage of the Bill by 226-1 votes, the strength of parliament has increased from 300 to 345 seats. The women members would be elected by 300 MPs based on party representation in parliament.

The Constitution (Fourteenth Amendment) Bill, 2004, was passed without any discussion as the main Opposition Awami League abstained and called it a “black bill”.

The amendment raised the retirement age of the Supreme Court judges, chairman and members of the Public Service Commission and the Comptroller and Auditor General.

It also empowered the Chief Election Commissioner to conduct the oath of the MPs in absence of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker.

The law also made provision for displaying the portraits of the President and the Prime Minister in government offices and other institutions.

Although members of the Jatiya Party-led by former President Hussain Mohammad Ershad and other splinter groups were present, but they neither raised any notices nor opposed the Bill.

The Opposition parties alleged the ruling alliance raised the retirement age of the Chief Justice and other judges of the Supreme Court with partisan design to ensure its own man as chief of the next caretaker government to manipulate the future Parliament election.

Deputy Opposition Leader Abdul Hamid told reporters that they rejected the Bill as a black law denying the demand of the Opposition and women organisations for direct election to the women reserved seats.

Under the constitution, Chief Justice K.M. Hasan, who has just retired and may join the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) would become the chief of the next caretaker government to conduct the election due in 2006.

The opposition said the BNP had violated its own pre-election commitment by avoiding direct election to the women reserved seats in parliament.

Some Jatiya Party members led by Begum Rowshan Ershad, voted in favour of the Bill, ignoring party chairman H.M. Ershad’s direction to oppose the Bill.

Mr Kader Siddiqui of the Krishak Sramik Janata League was the lone member, who voted against the Bill. — UNI