Quorum crisis costs BD Tk 1.64b

Bangladesh has wasted at least 194 hours and 30 minutes, equivalent in value to Tk 1.64 billion, due to the quorum crisis in 23 sessions of the 10th parliament, reports bdnews24.com.

Transparency International Bangladesh, an organisation focusing on corruption, shared the information in its research report titled ‘Parliament watch.’

TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman unveiled the report in a press briefing on Wednesday.

The organisation prepared the report after monitoring the first session of the 1oth national parliament in January 2014 to the last session in October 2018.

“The 10th national parliament had an average  quorum crisis of 28 minutes. There was a quorum crisis of 194 hours and 30 minutes in total in the 23 session of the 10th parliament,” Iftekharuzzaman said in the press briefing.

The constitution asks for the presence of minimum 60 parliamentarians to fulfil the quorum, or else the session has to be postponed.

According to the rules of procedure in parliament, the speaker will give directive to ring the bell for five minutes to fulfil the quorum, when needed. If it is not done in five minutes, the speaker will postpone the session.

The Jatiya Party led by HM Ershad was the opposition party in the 10th national parliament as the BNP had boycotted that election demanding a non-partisan caretaker government. The Jatiya Party also remained a part of the government simultaneously amid criticism.

TIB called the Jatiya Party a failed opposition because of its ‘dual role’.

“The 10th national parliament could not play an active role as expected, because of the absence of a proper opposition,” the TIB executive director said during the press briefing on Wednesday.

“We have never seen the party playing the role of an opposition. They had kind of identity crisis. It was something like they ruined the whole system rather than addressing the problem in it.”