Shirin set to be elected unopposed

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury is set to be elected uncontested from Rangpur-6 constituency vacated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The Rangpur-6 election is scheduled for February 20 but Shirin, being the lone candidate there, could become elected if the Election Commission validates her candidacy scrutinising her nomination papers today.
Talking to The Daily Star, Returning Officer Farid Ahmed of Rangpur said, "If her candidature is found valid, we will unofficially declare her elected and we will send it to the Election Commission for official announcement."
If this be the case, Shirin could be at the front, ahead of lawmakers Abdul Matin Khasru and Ali Ashraf, to become the speaker for the 10th parliament, which goes into its first session on Wednesday, sources in the Awami League said.
The ruling Awami League Parliamentary Party would meet around 6:00pm today, in all likelihood after Shirin is declared unofficially elected, and it might select its candidates for speaker and deputy speaker posts.
The meeting would be held at the conference room of the ruling party at the parliament complex, said Chief Whip ASM Feroz.
Party sources say that Awami League lawmaker Fazley Rabbi Mia could become the deputy speaker.
Talking to reporters at the parliament complex yesterday, Feroz said eight to 10 Awami League lawmakers were qualified to be speaker and deputy speaker and the Awami League Parliamentary Party would assess them.
Responding to a query, Feroz said BNP made a mistake by not taking part in the January 5 elections. He suggested that Khaleda should wait 1,825 more days until the tenure of the 10th parliament ends.
"As BNP has realised its mistake, it has decided to contest the upazila polls," he added.