New MPs, cabinet to take oath tomorrow

The newly elected members of parliament (MPs) and the incoming cabinet will take oath tomorrow with ceremonies scheduled at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

The MPs’ oath will be administered at 10am inside the Parliament Building while the cabinet will be sworn in at 4pm on the South Plaza.

Breaking with tradition, the cabinet oath will be held at Parliament for the first time instead of Bangabhaban, outgoing Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul said, citing a request from the BNP.

Speaking at a press briefing at the secretariat on Sunday, he said foreign ministers from SAARC countries have been invited to attend the oath-taking ceremony.

Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said interim government advisers would travel to the ceremony in flag-bearing official vehicles but return without them.

Parliament Secretariat Secretary Kaniz Maula said Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin would administer the MPs’ oath.

After taking oath, MPs will elect their parliamentary leaders at the same venue. Under the Constitution, lawmakers must take oath within three days of gazette publication.

The Election Commission published the gazette on Saturday for 297 of the 299 seats in the 13th parliamentary election held on 12 February.

In the election, the BNP secured a majority with 209 seats, while Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is set to become the main opposition with 68 seats. Other parties and independents won the remaining seats.

Following the swearing-in, the Parliamentary Board of BNP will meet to elect its parliamentary leader, who will then seek appointment as prime minister from the President. The prime minister will subsequently form the cabinet. 

President Mohammed Shahabuddin will administer the cabinet oath while newly appointed Cabinet Secretary M Siraj Mia will conduct the ceremony.

Preparations are underway by the Cabinet Division and Parliament Secretariat. BNP is set to take office from the interim administration led by Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus with BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman expected to become prime minister.

The party’s policymakers are finalising the cabinet lineup, with speculation continuing over ministerial, state minister and deputy minister posts.

According to sources, the cabinet may include representation from across the country and different religious communities, and that several senior leaders may be left out.

Names in discussion for ministerial positions include Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Selima Rahman, Salahuddin Ahmed, Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, Abdul Awal Mintoo, Dr Reza Kibria and Shama Obaid Islam. Humayun Kabir is also being considered under the technocrat quota.

Potential state and deputy minister picks include Shaheed Uddin Chowdhury Annie, Sultan Salahuddin Tuku, Ishrak Hossain and Shahadat Hossain Selim.

Alliance partners being discussed include Zonayed Saki of Ganosamhati Andolon, Andaleeve Rahman Partho of Bangladesh Jatiya Party and Nurul Haque Nur of Bangladesh Gano Odhikar Parishad.