Bangladesh cabinet oath in next four days: Official
Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) scored a landslide victory on Friday, securing a more than two-thirds majority in the landmark parliamentary elections held on Thursday.
The BNP leader is set to become prime minister, replacing interim government head Mohammed Yunus.
“As per the Constitution, the president will administer the oath at the Bangabhaban (presidential palace),” Cabinet Secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid said, without giving any date for the swearing-in ceremony.
However, a senior BNP policymaker leader, preferring anonymity, told PTI that the swearing-in ceremony is expected to be held on February 16 or 17.
The constitution requires new MPs to be sworn in following the cabinet swearing-in ceremony. One of Rahman’s key aides said the current legal scenario made the issue somewhat complicated.
“The last speaker of the parliament was supposed to fulfill the oath of the MPs, but he resigned and lives in an undisclosed place. The deputy speaker is in prison,” he said and did not want his name to be disclosed. In such cases, he said, “the Constitution has a provision against such a possibility” and that the president can choose someone to carry out the oath-taking of MPs.
Meanwhile, the cabinet secretary said the Constitution says that elected MPs must be sworn in within three days of the newspaper advertisement, after which the majority party will elect the parliamentary leader. The newspaper notice was published on Saturday morning.
When asked about the possible swearing-in date of the cabinet, Rashid said no date has been determined yet.
The senior bureaucrat said, “If we are instructed or specified that it will be held on a certain date and time, we will work accordingly. Even if it is tomorrow, we will have to prepare for tomorrow. We will be able to tell you the date as soon as we are informed.”
Law ministry officials said that since the gazette notification was published on Saturday, the three-day period for the oath could be taken into account starting from Sunday, February 15, 16 and 17.
The 13th Parliament election assumed significance as it was held in the wake of a turbulent political vacuum, instability and fragile security situation, including widespread attacks on minorities, after student-led protests toppled Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule in August 2024. Hasina fled to India on 5 August the same year, and three days later, Yunus took over as Chief Advisor to the Interim government.
According to the Election Commission (EC), the BNP won 209 out of 297 seats, while the right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami won 68 seats. Hasina’s Awami League party was barred from participating in the elections, which recorded a voter turnout of 59.44 per cent.
The EC postponed the declaration of results in two seats, Chattogram-2 and Chattogram-4; The election in one seat was postponed due to the death of a candidate.
