Tarique Rahman Elected BNP Parliamentary Party Leader, Set to Take Oath as Bangladesh PM

Dhaka — The Parliamentary Party of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Tuesday elected Tarique Rahman as its Leader, paving the way for him to become Leader of the House and take oath as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh later in the day, according to local media reports.

As the party securing the majority in Parliament, the BNP formally constituted its Parliamentary Party and held its inaugural meeting after 208 of its MPs were sworn in at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban earlier in the day. The meeting, chaired by Tarique Rahman, elected him as the Parliamentary Party Leader and the sole nominee for the post of prime minister, the party said in a Facebook post.

Speaking to journalists after the swearing-in ceremony, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir confirmed that the party’s MPs had unanimously chosen Tarique to lead them in the Jatiya Sangsad. He noted that Tarique had outlined fresh plans and a vision for building a “new Bangladesh,” according to reports by The Business Standard.

Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin administered the oath to the newly elected MPs in line with constitutional provisions, as the posts of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 12th Parliament remain vacant.

Reports indicate that BNP lawmakers refrained from taking oath as members of the Constitution Reform Council. At the beginning of the ceremony, BNP leader Salauddin Ahmed stated that, following instructions from Tarique Rahman, newly elected BNP MPs had been directed not to sign the Constitution Reform Council form, as they were not elected to that body. The development was reported by The Daily Star.

Salauddin argued that the Constitution Reform Council is not currently part of the Constitution and must first be formally incorporated in accordance with the outcome of the referendum. He added that detailed procedural guidelines, including clarity on who would administer the oath to council members, are necessary.

The 13th parliamentary election was held on February 12 alongside a referendum on the July National Charter across 299 of the country’s 300 constituencies. The BNP secured 209 seats, while Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami won 68 seats.

Tarique Rahman, who won from two constituencies, vacated the Bogura-6 seat for a by-election and took oath as MP from the Dhaka-17 constituency.

With Tarique set to assume leadership, Bangladesh will see a male prime minister after nearly 35 years. Analysts caution that the new government faces significant challenges, including political instability and rising Islamist extremism following the 18-month tenure of the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus.

With inputs from IANS