Dhaka: A political standoff unfolded in Bangladesh’s newly constituted parliament on Tuesday after right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami lawmakers refused to take the oath of office following the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)’s decision to reject a second pledge as members of the proposed “Constitution Reform Council”.
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasiruddin administered the oath to BNP Members of Parliament inside the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban in the first phase, with Jamaat MPs scheduled to follow. However, the process stalled after the BNP declined to take an additional oath linked to endorsing the constitutional reform referendum.
“We will take no oath unless BNP MPs take oath as members of the Constitution Reform Council alongside regular parliament members,” Jamaat deputy chief Abdullah Mohammad Taher said, asserting that “parliament without constitutional reform is meaningless”.
The second oath seeks to bind lawmakers to implement the widely publicised “July Charter”, which calls for sweeping constitutional amendments. The 84-point proposal was placed before voters in a referendum, with the Election Commission reporting that over 60 per cent cast a “yes” vote.
However, BNP leaders argued that there is no constitutional provision yet for such a council. “We have not been elected as members of the Constitution Reform Council; no provision of the council is yet to be incorporated in the Constitution,” BNP standing committee member and newly elected MP Salahuddin Ahmed said. He conveyed the party’s decision to fellow lawmakers on the instructions of BNP chairman Tarique Rahman. “None of us will take the second oath,” he added.
In the 13th parliamentary elections, the BNP secured 209 of the 297 seats, while Jamaat-e-Islami won 68, emerging as the principal opposition after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League was barred from contesting the February 12 polls.
As per constitutional procedure, President Mohammad Shahabuddin is set to invite the majority party leader to form the government and administer the oath of the new cabinet. The BNP has announced that Tarique Rahman will lead the government as the next Prime Minister.
The swearing-in ceremony is expected to draw around 1,200 domestic and international guests. India will be represented by Om Birla, while Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Turkish Undersecretary Beris Ekinci, and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr Nalinda Jayatissa are also among the expected attendees.
