Dhaka  - The Bangladesh parliament Thursday unanimously approved separate motions for regaining memberships of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and International Parliamentary Union (IPU), officials said.

Approving the motions in the House, lawmakers from both sides of the political divide said the country, which returned to democratic system two months ago ending two years rule of a military-backed government, needed a sustainable parliamentary democracy for the greater interests of its people.

Bangladesh lost membership of the CPA - a 154-member British-based organisation - in May 2007 as the South Asian country failed to elect a new parliament within the stipulated time because of military intervention in the wake of political turmoil in early 2007.

The IPU, a Swiss-based organisation of 169 members, cancelled Bangladesh's membership in April 2008 for the same reasons.

The secretariats of the CPA and IPU requested that Bangladesh pass resolutions and send them to their headquarters for reinstatement of their memberships as soon as it elected a new parliament through the December landmark elections.

Membership of Bangladesh with the IPU and CPU had already been suspended twice after military takeovers in 1976 and 1982. (dpa)