In a U-turn, Jatiyo Party says its MPs-elect will take oath tomorrow
Earlier JaPa said its MPs-elect will take the oath at a later date
In a reversal from its earlier decision, Jatiyo Party now says its newly elected members of parliament are going to take oath tomorrow (10 January).
The party's Joint Office Secretary Mahmud Alam confirmed the decision to The Business Standard. Earlier today, the party said its MPs-elect will take the oath at a later date.
Members of parliament elected in the 12th national election are scheduled to take oath tomorrow at 10am.
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The party sent a letter to the Speaker of parliament, seeking time in this regard, according to JaPa praesidium member Lt Gen Masud Uddin Chowdhury.
Awami League-backed candidates won 222 seats in 7 January's general elections, while independent candidates – most also belonging to AL – won 62 seats.
JaPa fielded candidates for 265 seats in the election and won only 11 despite a seat-sharing agreement with the AL for 26 seats.
The party had 22 seats in the 11th Parliament.
Meanwhile, JaPa Chairman GM Quader today said his party would have won more seats if the election was held properly.
"The way the election has been held, the Jatiyo Party was not supposed to get a single seat. The few seats we won prove that we still exist. But if the polls were held properly, we would have won many more [seats]," he told reporters in Rangpur.
He further said they were on the side of the government as long as it was on the side of the people.
"Now we don't think the government is on the side of the people. So, we are not on the side of the government," he added.
