Bangladesh's Newly Elected Parliament Takes Oath
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin administered the oath of office in a ceremony that follows last Thursday's landmark general election — the first held since the 2024 July Uprising that toppled the government of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who subsequently fled to India. Elections for three of the parliament's 300 seats were postponed.
Tarique Rahman Named Leader of the House
In a swift move following the swearing-in, the BNP convened its inaugural parliamentary session and elected party chairman Tarique Rahman as leader of the house, simultaneously nominating him as prime minister-elect, the party announced via the social media platform Facebook. Rahman and a Cabinet of approximately 30 ministers were set to take their oaths later Tuesday.
The BNP, alongside coalition partners, secured a commanding two-thirds parliamentary majority backed by 212 lawmakers — a mandate that positions the incoming government to pursue sweeping legislative reform.
Rahman, 60, son of the late former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and assassinated President Ziaur Rahman, returned to Bangladesh last December after spending 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom.
Constitutional Reform Council Dispute
A notable political fault line emerged during Tuesday's proceedings. BNP lawmakers declined to take a separate oath as members of the newly mandated Constitutional Reform Council — a body established following an overwhelming "yes" referendum held concurrently with last week's general election, underpinned by cross-party agreement on the July National Charter. The Jamaat-led bloc, by contrast, took the council oath and publicly protested the BNP's refusal to do so.
Power Handover Imminent
With Rahman's swearing-in expected later Tuesday, the 20-member interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was preparing to formally transfer power to the elected government — effectively closing an 18-month transitional chapter in Bangladesh's political history.
The interim government was constituted on August 8, 2024, three days after Hasina fled the country on August 5 as mass protests overwhelmed her administration. The July Uprising claimed the lives of an estimated 1,400 people, the majority of them young demonstrators, with thousands more injured.
Beyond the 300 contested seats, parliament is also set to include 50 reserved seats for women, to be allocated among parties proportional to their parliamentary representation once the new legislature formally convenes.
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