UNB, Dhaka :
Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, elected chairperson of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) recently, on Tuesday described her achievement as the victory of Bangladesh’s parliamentary democracy.
She was elected for the prestigious post at the 60th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in the
Cameroonian capital of Yaounde on October 9 and returned home on Tuesday.
Talking to reporters at the VIP lounge of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on her return, the Speaker said Bangladesh has set an example with this victory.
Asked whether the non-participation of some major political parties in the January-5 parliamentary polls poses any crisis for parliamentary democracy in the country, Dr Sharmin said, “I don’t think there’s any crisis. Had there been any, there would have been no victory.”
Saber Hossain Chowdhury, who was elected president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) at the 131st assembly of IPU in Geneva of Switzerland on Oct 16, also spoke to reporters at the VIP lounge of the airport about his victory.
He said both victories – which came within a span of one week – are the proofs that Bangladesh is now in a leading position at the global stage.
Deputy Speaker of Parliament M Fazle Rabbi Miah, Chief Whip ASM Feroz and Whip M Shahiduzzaman Sarker were also present on the occasion.
