The newly elected members of the 13th National Parliament and the incoming cabinet are set to take their oaths on Tuesday, with the MPs swearing in at 10 a.m. at the Oath Room of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban and the cabinet following in the afternoon at the South Plaza of the Parliament Complex.
According to an official announcement on Monday, the lawmakers will also take oath sequentially as members of the Constitution Reform Council at the same venue. The announcement was signed by Md Emadul Haque, director (deputy secretary) of the Public Relations Wing-1, Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat.
Invitation letters for the oath ceremony are being issued. MPs who do not receive their letters for any reason can collect them on the day of the ceremony from the front desk at the main entrance tunnel of the Parliament Building. Lawmakers have been requested to carry their National Identity Card (NID).
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin is expected to administer the oath to the MPs at 10 a.m., while Cabinet Secretary Dr. Nasimul Ghani will conduct the ceremony. The proceedings will begin with lawmakers elected from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), including party Chairman Tarique Rahman. Lawmakers from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, National Citizen Party (NCP), Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis, Khelafat Majlish, Gano Odhikar Parishad, Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP), Ganosamhati Andolon, and independent MPs will follow.
Official results show the BNP won 209 seats, with its alliance partners — Gano Odhikar Parishad, Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP), and Ganosamhati Andolon — winning one seat each. Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami secured 68 seats as the main opposition, along with its allies National Citizen Party (six seats), Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis (two seats), and Khelafat Majlish (one seat). Islami Andolon Bangladesh won one seat, and independent candidates won seven constituencies.
Earlier, the Election Commission published the gazette for 297 out of 299 parliamentary seats in the 13th polls. Results in Chittagong-2 and Chittagong-4 were postponed due to legal issues, while voting in Sherpur-3 was deferred following the death of a Jamaat-e-Islami candidate.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin will administer the oath to the new cabinet members in the afternoon at the South Plaza, breaking the long-standing tradition of holding the ceremony at Bangabhaban. The cabinet secretary will conduct the proceedings, a Bangabhaban source said.
Following the MPs’ oath, the BNP will hold a parliamentary board meeting to elect its parliamentary leader. The leader will then meet the president to formally inform him that the party commands an absolute majority and seek appointment as prime minister. President Shahabuddin will administer the oath first to the prime minister, followed by ministers, state ministers, and deputy ministers.
