Chapainawabganj-3 MP Harunur Rashid submitted his resignation letter to Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury on Thursday. 

After submitting his resignation letter, Harun said: "The current parliament should be dissolved immediately and elections should be held under a neutral government."

Urging the Awami League-led Grand Alliance to resign, he said: “The government wants to score goals in an empty field, there will be no meaningful elections in the country if the BNP and its alliance do not participate in the next elections.”

On December 11, five out of seven BNP members of the parliament (MPs) submitted their resignation to Speaker of Parliament Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, as part of their anti-government movement with a 10-point demand that includes dissolution of parliament.

The MPs who resigned were Md Zahidur Rahman, Thakurgaon-3, Md Mosharof Hosen, Bogra-4 Gulam Mohammad Siraj, Bogra-6, Md Aminul Islam, Chapainawabganj-2 and Rumeen Farhana, from women's reserved seats.

MP Harunur Rashid was in Australia and ailing MP of Brahmanbaria-2 Abdus Sattar Bhuiyan could not submit their resignation to the Speaker in person and did it through email.

Later, the Parliament Secretariat published a gazette notification announcing six parliamentary seats as vacant after accepting Abdus Sattar Bhuiyan's resignation.

However, BNP MP Harunur was asked to submit his resignation letter to the speaker in person as his signature was scanned and not in handwriting.

The by-elections to the five vacant parliamentary seats of the BNP MPs will be held on February 1.

The EC said the candidates of the constituencies can submit their nomination papers till January 5. Returning officers will scrutinize the nomination papers on January 8 and January 15 has been set as the last date for withdrawal of candidature.