Dhaka: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairman Tarique Rahman took oath as the country’s new prime minister. The ceremony followed the party’s landslide victory in the 13th National Parliamentary Election. President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath of office to Rahman at the presidential residence. After 18 months of interim rule that began with the fall of the Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina, an elected government has formally returned to the country.
Earlier in the day, Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin administered the oath to newly elected members of the 13th National Parliament. The BNP secured 209 seats on its own and 212 seats with allies in the 299-member House, giving the alliance a clear majority.
The ceremony, however, took an unexpected turn. Along with the parliamentary oath, arrangements were made for members to take an additional pledge as part of a proposed Constitutional Reform Council. The BNP refused to participate in this second oath.
Before the swearing-in began at the parliament complex, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed addressed newly-elected lawmakers and informed them that the party would not take oath as members of the Constitutional Reform Council. He stated that none of them had been elected to such a body and that the council did not so far exist within the structure of the Constitution.
He said that any such institution would require formal incorporation into the Constitution following a referendum and clear legal provisions outlining the nature of the oath. He added that the required format would need to be included in the Third Schedule of the Constitution and adopted by parliament before implementation.
Ahmed expressed the party’s commitment to acting within constitutional boundaries in the days ahead. He also stated that the announcement showed the decision of the party chairman.
Following the statement, BNP lawmakers proceeded to take oath solely as members of parliament before the chief election commissioner.
The issue stirred debate across political circles and social media platforms. Journalist Indrajit Kundu wrote on X that the BNP had declined to accept a proposal from the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus. The proposal, according to him, expected lawmakers to take a simultaneous oath as members of a newly envisioned Constitutional Reform Council.
He further said that the council aimed at introducing constitutional amendments in line with a referendum held along with the parliamentary election. He said the BNP lawmakers chose to limit their oath to parliamentary membership and maintained that provisions related to the reform body were not so far part of the existing Constitution and required detailed parliamentary debate.
Lawmakers from both the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizens Party took oaths as members of parliament and as members of the proposed reform council.
BNP members unanimously elected Rahman as their leader in the House and confirmed him as the prime minister. It consolidated the party’s authority following its commanding electoral performance.
