No parliament, no speaker – who will administer oath of office to Bangladesh’s new government? | World News

Dhaka: After the general elections, Bangladesh is facing a strange constitutional process in which the results are announced but the necessary institutional structure is missing to form a new government. The country has no sitting parliament and no speaker. It created confusion over how the formal transfer of power would begin and who would administer the oath of office to the prime minister.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, will form the government after nearly two decades after securing a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections held on February 12. The party achieved a landslide victory and crossed the threshold to form the next government.

With a two-thirds majority in the national legislature, Jatiyo Sansad, the BNP-led coalition won 212 seats. The 11-party bloc led by Jamaat-e-Islami won 77 seats, while independent candidates completed the final tally by winning eight seats.

Under normal circumstances, this would initiate a rapid and routine transfer of power. This time the path looks more complicated.

The constitutional process begins with the swearing in of newly elected members. This ceremony begins the official process of establishing the government. Uncertainty arose regarding this first step.

In practice, the swearing-in ceremony is usually held within three days after the final result is announced. Unofficial results announced shortly after the vote are not counted as official results. The constitutional period begins only after the results are officially published in the government gazette. Following the publication of this communiqué, elected members must take the oath within three days.

Administrative procedures for newspaper publication may take additional time. This created a short waiting period before the official ceremony was scheduled. Officials in the interim administration stated that the delay would be limited. The transition process is expected to proceed rapidly once official certification is completed. The swearing-in ceremony will probably take place a few days after it is published in the newspaper.

The question is who will administer the oath. Traditionally, the responsibility lies with the speaker. But this time the situation is different. There is currently no functioning parliament in the country. The office of the President is also vacant. The deputy speaker of the parliament is being detained following the mass protest movement that changed the political order last year.

The Constitution provides a backup process for such situations. Article 148 describes an alternative arrangement. If the person assigned to fulfill the oath does not take the oath within the specified time, the responsibility passes to another authority.

The first option allows the president to nominate a person to officiate the ceremony. This role may be assigned to a senior constitutional officer. The chief justice has been discussed in legal circles as a possible candidate. If a presidential candidate is not sworn in within three days, the position automatically passes to the chief election commissioner. The Constitution gives the election chief full authority to complete the process under these conditions.

Legal advisors to the interim administration said the priority was the peaceful transfer of power. After the MPs are sworn in, the next stage begins. The president steps in to invite the majority party or coalition to form a government. The invitation is forwarded to the parliamentary leader of the majority bloc in question. Numerical strength is the determining factor. At least 151 seats are required to claim the authority to govern.

After receiving the invitation, the majority leader takes action to form the cabinet. The president then administers the oath of office and secrecy to the prime minister. The appointment follows immediately after the vow.

Constitutional provisions state that the president will appoint as prime minister the member of parliament who has the trust of the majority. Once the prime minister and cabinet members are sworn in, executive power automatically passes to them.

The constitutional order treats the oath as the final legal threshold. After taking the oath, office holders are deemed to have assumed their responsibilities. With the completion of this step, the transfer of authority becomes official and the new government comes into force.