Bangladesh’s incoming PM Tarique Rahman sworn into parliament | Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s new prime minister, Tarique Rahman, and other politicians were sworn in to parliament on Tuesday, becoming the first representatives elected since the deadly 2024 uprising.
Rahman is set to take over the interim government that has governed the country of 170 million people for 18 months since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic government.
The MPs, who pledged their loyalty to Bangladesh, were sworn in by chief election commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) politicians were expected to formally elect Rahman as their leader, and president Mohammed Shahabuddin was to administer the oath of office to the prime minister and his ministers on Tuesday afternoon.
Rahman, 60, head of the BNP and scion of one of the country’s most powerful political dynasties, won a landslide victory in the February 12 elections.
In his victory speech on Saturday, he said, “This victory belongs to Bangladesh, it belongs to democracy.” “This victory belongs to the people who desire democracy and sacrifice for it.”
But he also talked about the challenges ahead, including tackling the country’s economic woes.
“We are about to begin our journey in a situation marked by a fragile economy left behind by the authoritarian regime, weakened constitutional and legal institutions and a deteriorating law and order situation,” he added.
The new leader has vowed to restore stability and revive growth after months of turmoil that has shaken investor confidence in Bangladesh, the world’s second-largest garment exporter.
He also called on all parties to “stay united” in a country polarized by years of fierce rivalry.
Rahman returned to Bangladesh only in December after 17 years in exile in Britain.
The BNP coalition won 212 seats, while the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance won 77 seats.
The Jamaat, which won more than a quarter of the seats in parliament (a fourfold increase from its previous best), contested the results in 32 constituencies. But its 67-year-old leader, Shafikur Rahman, also said the Islamist party “will serve as a vigilant, principled and peaceful opposition”.
Hasina’s Awami League party was barred from participating in the elections.
78-year-old Hasina, who was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity, made a statement condemning an “illegal” election from where she was hiding in India.
However, India praised the BNP’s “decisive victory”; this was a remarkable change after deeply strained relations.
Only seven women were directly elected, but a further 50 seats reserved for women will be allocated to parties based on their vote share.
Four members of minority communities won seats; two of them are Hindus (a population that makes up about 7% of the population in Muslim-majority Bangladesh).
