The newly elected 13th parliament convened for its first session on Thursday, with the speaker’s chair initially left vacant. The assembly will begin deciding the fate of 133 ordinances issued by the now-dissolved interim government.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman then nominated Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain to preside over the opening session. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir seconded the motion, with Syed Mohammad Abdullah Taher, nayeb-e-ameer of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party, offering support from the opposition benches.

Proceedings had begun shortly after 11:00 am with a recitation from the Quran, initially overseen by parliamentary secretary Kaniz Moula with the speaker’s chair empty. The initial absence of a speaker underscored the transitional nature of the 13th parliament, which sat for the first time since the political realignment that followed the ouster of the Awami League government on August 5, 2024.

Hossain’s appointment regularises the chair for the duration of the inaugural session.

The session will determine the legislative legacy of the interim government led by Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus. Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman is set to table the ordinances for parliamentary approval.

Lawmakers are also expected to begin deliberations on the “July Charter”, a document born from the student-led uprising that toppled the former government, with an eye toward its formal implementation. The fate of the charter represents a key test of the new parliament’s political direction.