Congratulations and Celebrations

Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury

Given the nature of our current parliament the recent elections of Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and Saber Hossain Chowdhury as the chiefs of the Commonwealth Parliamentary (CPA) and Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) are rather interesting. And how are we supposed to perceive their elections to the two global parliamentary bodies that exchange knowledge, practices of parliamentary democracy in the member assemblies and encourage parliamentary dialogue worldwide?   

Saber was elected as an MP in the one-sided and voter less January 5 parliamentary election. And he was made the chief of the parliamentary standing committee of the Jute and Textile Ministry. Shirin was elected as an MP in a by-election and was elected as the Speaker of the 10th parliament that was formed through uncontested elections of more than half of its members. The current parliament was constituted before the expiry of the tenure of the previous 9th parliament. The current parliament does not have a real opposition. The Jatiya Party was made as the main opposition, but some of its MPs were also inducted in the council of ministers, which is led by Sheikh Hasina. These are bizarre records in the contemporary history of the parliamentary democracy. Amid such a situation, Shirin and Saber's elections to the two global parliamentary organisations have offered something even more interesting.  

Shirin and Saber both defeated their opponents in ballots to win the chairs of the CPA and IPU. Shirin was elected as the Chairperson of the 35-member executive committee of the CPA that promotes parliamentary democracy in the former British colonies. She has become the first Bangladeshi to be elected to this office. She defeated her lone opponent Julianna O'Connor-Connolly, Speaker of the Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly. The Cayman Islands are a British overseas territory. It has a 20-seat legislative assembly elected by people. According to Wikipedia, the Cayman Islands had an estimated population of about 56,000. The population is projected to rise to 60,000 by 2020. The Cayman Islands have more registered businesses than the island's number of citizens.  
Though Julianna represents a legislative assembly of a non-self governing territory she gave Shirin a tough time to win the battle. Shirin got 70 votes while Julianna bagged 67.  

Saber Hossain Chowdhury

Within a week of Shirin's election to the CPA, Saber came up with a huge achievement. He was elected as the President of the IPU, an international organisation of parliaments, by defeating his opponents in a fierce battle of ballots.  He defeated three other candidates – the Speaker of Australia's House of Representatives Bronwyn Bishop, Indonesian MP Nurhayati Ali Assegaf and former Speaker of the Maldives Parliament Abdulla Shahid in the election held on the concluding day of the 131st IPU Assembly in Geneva. Saber got 169 votes while his nearest rival Bishop managed to secure 95 votes.

These two victories for Bangladesh in the international arena have also given a boost to the morale of the AL-led government. After Shirin's elections to the CPA, some AL leaders have portrayed the victory as a response to those who have been criticising the January 5 one-sided election. After Saber's victory in the IPU, Speaker Shirin Sharmin Choudhury said Saber becoming the first Bangladeshi  to become the IPU chief had brightened the country's image abroad. “This rare feat is a milestone in the progress of parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh,” she said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also the leader of the House, congratulated Saber and said that through the win of Saber in the IPU election, another feather had been added to Bangladesh's success in creating global leadership. She said Bangladesh had now been recognised as a role model due to its stunning success in the socioeconomic development. She said: "I hope that our global leaders would further highlight Bangladesh's image in the world by projecting the country's tremendous achievements through their activities."

So, the current parliament and the government might organise some big reception parties for Shirin and Saber. However it depends on the policymakers how they will use or abuse the opportunities Bangladesh got after Shirin and Saber's elections to these two international organisations.

The writer is Senior Reporter, The Daily Star.