CEC to administer oaths to newly elected members of parliament, Constitution Reform Council Tuesday
The ceremony will begin at 10am at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin will administer the oath to 296 newly elected members of parliament of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad on Tuesday (17 February).
The Election Commission Secretariat received a letter from the Parliament Secretariat in this regard today (16 February).
EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said the oath-taking ceremony will be held at 10am at the Oath Room of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.
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He added that the chief election commissioner will also administer the oath to members of the Constitution Reform Council.
The oath will be administered in phases, separately for party- or alliance-based members and independent MPs.
After the MPs take oath in the morning, the new cabinet is scheduled to take oath in the afternoon at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. The president will administer the oath to cabinet members.
Uncertainty had arisen over who would administer the oath after Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury resigned on 2 September 2024 and former Deputy Speaker Shamsul Haque Tuku was sent to jail. Under Article 148 of the Constitution, the speaker – or, in the speaker's absence, the deputy speaker – administers the oath to newly elected members.
Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud told The Business Standard that if neither the speaker nor deputy speaker is available, the chief election commissioner may administer the oath within three days, starting from the fourth day after the gazette is published.
He said that since both positions are currently unavailable, the chief election commissioner will conduct the oath-taking on the fourth day following the gazette's publication.
Preparations were underway at the South Plaza of the parliament complex this afternoon, where a stage and seating arrangements were being set up under the open sky.
Nearly 20 months after the July Uprising, the parliament premises were being readied to welcome the newly elected representatives. Around 100 workers were seen at the site around 5pm, supervising, cleaning and setting up the stage.
Police have taken tight security measures ahead of the oath ceremonies. Traffic movement on Manik Mia Avenue will remain controlled.
Muhammad Talebur Rahman, deputy commissioner (Media and Public Relations) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said roads around the South Plaza will remain under controlled movement and the entire area will be secured with adequate police deployment.
BNP secured an absolute majority in the election by winning 209 seats. Former ally Jamaat-e-Islami won 68 seats and is set to sit in the opposition, while other parties and independent candidates won the remaining seats.
