The constitution of Bangladesh provides that a member of parliament shall vacate his seat if he is absent from parliament, without the leave of parliament, for ninety consecutive sitting days. Rules of procedure of parliament (ROP) clarifies that leave of absence applied for at any one time shall not exceed a period of ninety days.

Let us now see what the constitutions in some countries including our neighbouring countries say on the vacation of seat by an MP on grounds of his absence from the sessions and / or sittings of parliament.

According to the constitution of India, if for a period of sixty days a member of either House (the Council of States or the House of People) of parliament is without permission of the House absent from all meetings thereof, the House may declare his seat vacant. Rules of procedure and conduct of business in Lok Sabha (House of People) clarifies that leave of absence applied for at any one time shall not exceed a period of sixty days.

The constitution of Pakistan says that a House (the National Assembly or the Senate) may declare the seat of a member vacant if, without leave of the House, he remains absent for forty consecutive days of sittings.

The 1990 constitution of Nepal provides that the seat of a member of parliament shall become vacant if he, without the leave of the concerned House (the House of Representatives or the National Assembly), absents himself from thirty consecutive meetings of the House.

The constitution of Fiji provides that the place of a member of the House of Representatives becomes vacant if he is absent from two consecutive meetings of the House without having obtained the permission of the Speaker to be absent. The place of a member of the Senate becomes vacant if he is absent from two consecutive meetings of the Senate without having obtained the permission of the President of the Senate.

According to the Australian constitution, the place of a senator shall become vacant if for two consecutive months of any session of the Parliament he, without the permission of the Senate, fails to attend the Senate. The place of a member of the House of Representatives shall become vacant if for two consecutive months of any session of the Parliament he, without the permission of the House, fails to attend the House.

The 1996 constitution of South Africa provides that a person loses membership of the National Assembly if that person is absent from the Assembly without permission in circumstances for which the rules and orders of the Assembly prescribes loss of membership.

It appears from the above discussion that the lawmakers of Bangladesh enjoy the privilege of leave of absence from the sittings of the House for the maximum days.

The civil society leaders, the print media and others raised proposals earlier to substantially reduce the leave of absence of the MPs from the sittings of parliament. The question arises as to why the leave of absence of the MPs should be substantially reduced?

First, countries having a parliamentary system of government normally have bi-cameral legislature. But Bangladesh has got a unicameral legislature in which is vested the legislative powers of the Republic. A bi-cameral legislature in countries such as Britain, India, Australia, Canada provides checks and balances in lawmaking. The members of unicameral parliament of Bangladesh are not only responsible for making laws but also for other matters ancillary thereto. These include, inter alia,(i) electing the President of Bangladesh, (ii) electing the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of parliament, (iii) participating in the deliberations of parliamentary standing committees on ministries and other parliamentary committees, (iv) asking questions in the House on the performance of the ministries, departments, autonomous bodies and enterprises, (v) moving resolutions in the House relating to matters of general public interest, (vi) moving a motion expressing want of confidence in the cabinet, (vii) removing the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker, (viii) impeaching the President. To discharge the above functions and responsibilities properly, the legislators have to regularly attend the sittings of the House and keep them busy in the House and within the precincts of the House.

Second, boycotting the parliament sessions and sittings has been a perennial problem since the reintroduction of parliamentary system of government in the country through the Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Act, 1991. During the last thirteen- plus years of rule of the two major political parties namely the BNP and the AL, the main opposition party has resorted to hartals and sustained boycott of parliament. The process is still on. The sole objective of boycotting parliament by the main opposition party from time to time has been to make parliament dysfunctional and thereby force the party or alliance in power to step down. The sustained boycott of parliament by the main opposition party from time to time has not only obstructed the functioning of parliament but also put the nascent democracy of the country at stake. So, there is need for legal measures to make it obligatory for the lawmakers to attend the sittings of parliament.

Third, it has been noticed that during the last thirteen years or so, the lawmakers of the main opposition party have taken advantage of article 67 (1) (b) of the constitution, which saves their seats in the House even if they remain absent from parliament without leave of absence of parliament for eighty-nine consecutive sitting days. This period normally encompasses more than one session of parliament. Instances are there to show that during a period of eighty-nine consecutive sitting days, MPs from the main opposition party attended sitting(s) of parliament for a day or so to save their seats. But they have never hesitated to take all the remuneration and privileges of lawmakers without discharging their constitutional responsibilities.

Last but not the least, it appears that in the countries having a long tradition of parliamentary democracy the leave of absence of the MPs does not exceed sixty days. Bangladesh has little experience of parliamentary democracy. According to political scientists and analysts, the success of a parliamentary democracy depends upon a number of factors such as democratic spirit of tolerance, devoted sense of respect and relentless response towards the institutionalism of democracy. Bangladesh is yet to satisfy the above conditions for the successful functioning of parliamentary democracy. This necessitates a vibrating parliament which is possible with the participation of lawmakers belonging to the ruling party/ alliance and the opposition.

To conclude, the greater national interest demands substantial reduction in the leave of absence of the MPs. The leave of absence at any one time should not exceed thirty consecutive sitting days.

M. Abdul Latif Mondal is a former Secretary to the government