Bangladesh’s newly elected MPs to take oath on Feb 17

Newly elected members of Bangladesh’s 13th National Parliamentary Election will take oath on February 17 at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. The BNP secured a majority, positioning Tarique Rahman to lead the government amid concerns over political unrest and rising extremism

Dhaka: The members elected in Bangladesh’s 13th National Parliamentary Election are set to take their oath of office on Tuesday, February 17, according to local media reports.

The swearing-in ceremony will be administered in the morning by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin. Multiple sources from the interim government’s chief advisor’s office, the law ministry, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which is poised to form the next government, confirmed the development to the leading Bangladeshi daily Prothom Alo.

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The 13th parliamentary election was conducted on Thursday, and the Election Commission published the official gazette notification of the victorious candidates on Friday night. Preparations for the oath-taking ceremony are already underway at the Jatiya Sangsad secretariat.

Traditionally, the ceremony is held in the designated oath room at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. Jatiya Sangsad secretariat secretary Kaniz Moula said that arrangements are being made for the oath-taking ceremony on Tuesday evening, February 17. Polling was held for 299 of the 300 seats in the 13th parliamentary election on February 12. The Election Commission declared unofficial results for 297 constituencies. However, the gazette notifications for Chattogram-2 and Chattogram-4 have not yet been issued following a directive from the High Court.

According to the results announced so far, the BNP won 209 out of 297 seats in the February 12 election, with its candidates leading in the two constituencies, including Chattogram-2 and 4, where results have been withheld. Their allies have claimed three seats.

On the other hand, Jamaat-e-Islami has won 68 seats, while the partners in the Jamaat-led 11-party electoral alliance secured nine seats. Islami Andolan Bangladesh (IAB) claimed one seat, and independent candidates won in seven constituencies, Prothom Alo reported.

With Tarique Rahman now set to lead Bangladesh – the country last saw a male PM almost 35 years ago – experts warn that the nation faces a massive challenge of overcoming the unrest and rising Islamist extremism that marked the 18-month tenure of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.