BNP Chief Tarique Rahman Takes Oath As Bangladesh PM At National Parliament

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairman Tarique Rahman was sworn in as Bangladesh’s new Prime Minister on Tuesday in a ceremony held at the South Plaza of Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath at around 4:15 pm local time.

The event took place at the National Parliament complex’s South Plaza to accommodate nearly 1,200 guests. Alongside Rahman, 25 BNP lawmakers were sworn in as cabinet ministers, while 24 other newly elected MPs took oath as state ministers.

In the recently concluded 13th Parliamentary elections, the BNP secured a commanding majority, winning 209 of the 297 seats. The right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami claimed 68 seats. The Awami League, led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was barred from contesting the polls.

Earlier in the day, Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin administered the oath to all 297 newly elected members of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad. According to a parliamentary secretariat release, the lawmakers first took oath as Members of Parliament and subsequently as members of the Constitutional Reform Council.

The BNP has scheduled a parliamentary party meeting at the Parliament Building to formally elect its parliamentary leader. BNP standing committee member Salah Uddin Ahmed stated that, as leader of the majority party, Tarique Rahman would assume the office of Prime Minister.

Rahman’s swearing-in marks a significant political shift in Bangladesh following a decisive electoral outcome.