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The speaker of the Bangladesh parliament, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, has been elected chairperson of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA). |
She was elected for the prestigious post at the 60th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in the Cameroonian capital of Yaoundé on Thursday, parliament secretariat officials said in Dhaka yesterday.
Chaudhury will lead the 35-member executive committee for the next three years.
Juliana O’ Connor-Connoly, speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Cayman Islands, was the only rival of the Bangladesh speaker in the election race.
Earlier, on October 3, Speaker Chaudhury left Dhaka for Cameroon to take part in the 60th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference.
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association promotes parliamentary democracy in the erstwhile British colonies.
Chaudhury received 70 votes while Connor-Connoly bagged 67, SM Manzur, director of public relations wing of the
parliament secretariat, said.
Out of the total 321 votes, 137 voters from 175 members of the association turned up at the general assembly which is the lone authorised body to elect the chairperson of the CPA executive committee.
According to the CPA charter, the national and state legislatures are the members of the association. The voters must be present at the general assembly.
Soon after the election, Chaudhury chaired a meeting of the new executive committee at the conference venue.
Chaudhury is the 21st chairperson of the CPA executive committee since the association was established in 1967.
Political observers say Chaudhury’s win will surely brighten the image of the 10th parliament, which many countries do not appreciate much
internationally.
Considering her excellent academic career and contributions to women empowerment and democracy, the western countries, including the British parliament, in August suggested that Chaudhury should contest the votes.
The CPA, UK is one of the 175 branches of the association. The speakers of the House of the Lords and the House of Commons are the presidents of
the CPA, UK.
The vice-presidents of the CPA, UK are the prime minister, leader of the opposition, secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs, secretary of state for international development and those members of the house of parliament who have previously held some prestigious posts in the UK.
