Dhaka, Feb 17 (IANS) As Bangladesh prepares for a political transition, the newly elected members of parliament from the Jamaat-led alliance, independent candidates, and Islami Andolan Bangladesh took their oath on Tuesday afternoon at the National Parliament in Dhaka, local media reported.
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin administered the oath in accordance with the country’s Constitution.
Citing sources, Bangladesh’s leading newspaper, The Daily Star, reported that two sentences of the oath were read after consultation with Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman.
Reports suggest that the six MPs of the National Citizen Party (NCP) were not present in the room during the oath-taking.
After the signing formalities were concluded, the second oath, as members of the Constitutional Reform Council reportedly commenced.
During the second oath, independent MP Rumeen Farhana and BNP’s Ishraque Hossain were seen exiting the room, as seen in the televised footage of the ceremony, The Daily Star reported.
The oath-taking ceremony was held at the parliament complex against the backdrop of continued political deliberations regarding participation in the Constitutional Reform Council.
Earlier in the day, newly elected MPs from the 11-party alliance, including the Jamaat-e-Islami and National Citizen Party (NCP), had declined to take their parliamentary oaths.
The move reportedly came in response to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) decision to abstain from the constitutional reform council oath.
Meanwhile, the BNP’s newly elected lawmakers took oath as members of parliament, while refraining from taking oath as members of the Constitutional Reform Council.
At the outset of the oath-taking ceremony, BNP leader Salauddin Ahmed said that on instructions of the party chief, Tarique Rahman, all BNP’s newly elected MPs have been instructed not to sign the Constitution Reform Council form, since they were not elected as members of the council.
Clarifying the party’s stance, BNP leader Salahuddin further said, “None of us was elected as a member of the Constitutional Reform Council. If the matter is constitutionally adopted in parliament, steps can be taken accordingly.”
With BNP’s chairman Tarique Rahman now set to lead Bangladesh – following his party’s decisive victory in the 13th parliamentary elections- experts warn that the nation faces mounting unrest and escalating political conflict amid the transition.
–IANS
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