TIB alleges misuse of majority power in Parliament, urges effective legislation

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on Tuesday expressed deep concern over the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) lawmaking practices in the National Parliament and the formation of parliamentary standing committees.

“…… are a clear example of the unilateral abuse of majority power by introducing bills as supplementary business in violation of the Rules of Procedure and passing them quickly without any meaningful scrutiny or debate,” the anti-corruption watchdog said in a statement.

TIB also called for new legislation to strengthen the powers and effectiveness of parliamentary standing committees.

TIB Executive Director Dr. Iftekharuzzaman said the Invest Bangladesh Act, 2026 was passed without seeking prior public opinion or referring the bill to a parliamentary standing committee, in violation of Rule 77 of the Rules of Procedure.

“The government did not consider the opposition’s proposal to refer the bill for public opinion or to a select committee, nor did it allow the opposition to move amendments,” he said.

He also noted that Members of Parliament received copies of the bill only moments before it was introduced, instead of the required three days in advance.

According to TIB, several other bills, including the Bangladesh Medical University (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Public Examinations (Offences) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, were also introduced as supplementary business without prior notice.

“It raises the question of how the present Parliament differs from that of the authoritarian era,” Iftekharuzzaman said.

The organisation expressed concern over the formation of parliamentary standing committees, citing the inclusion of the State Minister for Rural Development and Cooperatives in multiple committees despite what it described as “alleged conflicts of interest.”

“What has already happened in the formation of these committees not only reduces the commitments of the July National Charter to mere words on paper but also threatens to render the ruling party’s 31-point reform agenda and election manifesto meaningless,” he added.

Iftekharuzzaman urged the government to abandon what he described as contradictory positions, reconstitute the already formed controversial committees, and uphold its own declared commitments while forming the remaining committees.

The organisation also called for the inclusion of at least one woman in each of the four parliamentary committees specified in the July National Charter and urged that all directly elected women lawmakers be appointed to at least one standing committee.