Dhaka: Newly elected MPs in Bangladesh are scheduled to take their oath as members of the 13th parliament and the Constitution Reform Council on Tuesday. Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin will administer the oath in accordance with the Constitution, as the positions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 12th Parliament are currently vacant.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the swearing-in ceremony will be held in the oath-taking room of the Jatiya Sangsad. BNP’s MPs-elect are set to take their oath at 10 a.m., followed by Jamaat-e-Islami’s MPs-elect at 12 p.m., as stated by Parliament Secretariat Secretary Kaniz Moula. Both the parliamentary and Constitution Reform Council oaths will occur during the same event.
The Election Commission (EC) has instructed the Parliament Secretariat to arrange the necessary measures for the Chief Election Commissioner to administer the oath to the newly elected members. Despite these preparations, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed has raised constitutional concerns regarding the legality of administering the oath for the Constitution Reform Council. He highlighted the absence of a specified oath format for this council in the Third Schedule of the Constitution.
Officials from the Parliament Secretariat have indicated that newly elected MPs will sign the oath book and provide their fingerprints, images, and digital signatures to prepare their digital identity cards following the ceremony. The 13th parliamentary election, accompanied by a referendum on the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order 2025, took place last Thursday in 299 of Bangladesh’s 300 constituencies.
The EC has published a gazette of 297 elected MP candidates, with the results from two constituencies withheld due to court orders. The election for Sherpur-3 was previously canceled due to the death of a candidate. BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman has opted for a by-election for the Bogura-6 seat as he is set to take the oath from Dhaka-17.
In the election, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secured 209 parliamentary seats, while the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami won 68. Other parties and independent candidates accounted for the remaining seats. The BNP-led electoral alliance claimed victory in a total of 212 constituencies, and the Jamaat-led alliance won in 77 constituencies.
The July National Charter outlines the formation of a Constitution Reform Council with elected representatives who are tasked with implementing constitutional reforms within 180 working days. The Chief Election Commissioner will administer the oath, substituting for the Speaker due to the latter’s resignation or absence.
The Constitution mandates newly elected MPs to take their oath within three days of gazette notification, typically administered by the Speaker. In the absence of the Speaker, the Chief Election Commissioner or a President-nominated person is entitled to perform this function.