Dhaka: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party Parliamentary Party on Tuesday elected its Chairman, Tarique Rahman, as Leader of the Parliamentary Party, paving the way for him to become Leader of the House and take oath as the Prime Minister later in the day, according to Bangladeshi media reports.
As the party commanding a majority in Parliament, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party formally constituted its Parliamentary Party and held its inaugural meeting after 208 of its Members of Parliament took oath at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban earlier in the day. The meeting was chaired by Tarique Rahman.
During the session, the Parliamentary Party unanimously elected Tarique as its Leader and nominated him as the sole candidate for the post of Prime Minister, according to a statement shared on the party’s official Facebook page.
Speaking to journalists following the swearing-in ceremony, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir confirmed that Tarique — who has outlined fresh plans and a vision for a “new Bangladesh” — was chosen by party lawmakers to lead them in the Jatiya Sangsad, reported leading Bangladeshi daily The Business Standard.
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin administered the oath to the newly elected Members of Parliament in accordance with the Constitution, as the offices of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 12th Parliament remain vacant.
Reports indicate that BNP lawmakers did not take oath as members of the Constitution Reform Council.
At the beginning of the oath-taking ceremony, BNP leader Salauddin Ahmed stated that, on instructions from party chief Tarique Rahman, all newly elected BNP lawmakers had been directed not to sign the Constitution Reform Council form, as they were not elected as members of that body, according to Bangladesh’s leading newspaper The Daily Star.
Salauddin further asserted that the Constitution Reform Council is not recognised under the Constitution and must first be incorporated into it in line with the outcome of the referendum. He added that detailed procedures are required, including specific guidelines on who would administer the oath to members of the Council.
The 13th parliamentary election was conducted alongside a referendum on the July National Charter on February 12 in 299 of the country’s 300 constituencies.
In the polls, the BNP secured 209 parliamentary seats, while the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami won 68 seats.
Tarique Rahman, who emerged victorious from two constituencies, vacated the Bogura-6 seat for a by-election and took oath as a Member of Parliament from Dhaka-17.
With Tarique now poised to lead Bangladesh — the country has not had a male Prime Minister for nearly 35 years — experts caution that the new government faces significant challenges, including tackling unrest and rising Islamist extremism that characterised the 18-month tenure of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim administration.
With IANS inputs