Mic malfunction disrupts Parliament sitting after Speaker takes charge

A microphone malfunction disrupted the first sitting of the newly formed Parliament this afternoon shortly after Speaker Hafiz Uddin took charge of proceedings.

After the session resumed around 12:45pm, newly elected Speaker attempted to conduct the proceedings through the installed microphones, but sound distortion occurred due to a technical fault.

He then switched to a handheld microphone to continue addressing the House.

Explaining the disruption, the Speaker assured members that the problem would be resolved shortly and urged them to remain patient.

Earlier, the sitting of the 13th Parliament began shortly after 11:00am, initially presided over by senior BNP lawmaker Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain.

During the sitting, Hafiz Uddin was elected Speaker and Kayser Kamal was elected Deputy Speaker.

Following their election, the House was briefly adjourned to allow President Mohammed Shahabuddin to administer their oaths.

After the mic malfunction, the Speaker switched to a handheld microphone, thanking members for electing him unopposed and acknowledging the technical difficulties in the chamber

At one point, a Sergeant-at-Arms staff member approached the Speaker regarding the issue. Later, Secretary of the Parliament Secretariat Kaniz Mowla also spoke with him.

During his brief address, Hafiz Uddin said that Parliament had become functional again after a long period but the institution was still adjusting to democratic debate.

He expressed hope that the situation would improve soon.

The Speaker later informed the House that the technical problem would be fixed within minutes. However, as the call to prayer (Azan) began, he adjourned the sitting for 20 minutes.

The session resumed around 1:30pm.