Lawmakers elected in the 13th National Parliamentary Election were sworn in on Tuesday, but sharp divisions emerged over taking a second oath as members of the newly proposed Constitutional Reform Council.
The newly elected MPs of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party took oath only as members of parliament, declining to be sworn in as Reform Council members. In contrast, lawmakers from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP) took both oaths. Several leaders from smaller allied parties also refrained from taking the Reform Council oath.
BNP declines second oath
BNP lawmakers were sworn in shortly before 11am at the oath room of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin administered the oath.
Two separate forms were provided: a white form for the parliamentary oath and a blue form for the Constitutional Reform Council oath. Before the ceremony began, BNP Standing Committee member and Cox’s Bazar-1 MP Salahuddin Ahmed instructed party colleagues not to take the Reform Council oath.
“We were not elected as members of the Constitutional Reform Council,” Salahuddin said.
He argued that although the referendum endorsed constitutional reform, the Reform Council has not yet been incorporated into the Constitution. “Once it is incorporated into the Constitution and provisions clearly specify who will administer the oath, it will then be possible to take oath as members of the Reform Council,” he said.
“After it is constitutionally adopted in the National Parliament, provisions can be made for administering the oath to members of the National Constitutional Reform Council. Constitutionally, we have come this far. We are proceeding in accordance with the Constitution and hope to continue to do so in the coming days.”
After taking oath as MPs, BNP lawmakers signed the register. Parliament Secretariat Secretary Kaniz Mowla then declared the ceremony concluded.
Under the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order, passed following the “Yes” vote in the referendum, a Constitutional Reform Council is to be formed comprising elected representatives of the 13th parliament. As such, members were expected to take oath both as MPs and as Reform Council members. The BNP, however, formally declined the second oath.
Jamaat, NCP take both oaths
Jamaat-e-Islami lawmakers took both oaths. They were sworn in as MPs at 12:23pm and as Reform Council members at 12:27pm, with the CEC administering both.
Earlier in the day, Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher had said that if BNP lawmakers did not take the Reform Council oath, Jamaat MPs would not take any oath, arguing that “a parliament without reform is meaningless.” Ultimately, the party proceeded with both oaths.
NCP lawmakers also took both oaths. At 1:22pm, they were sworn in as MPs, followed by the Reform Council oath at 1:25pm.
Initially, leaders of the Jamaat–NCP-led 11-party alliance had signalled they would not take any oath if the Reform Council oath was not administered in line with the law. NCP spokesperson Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan wrote on Facebook: “At the very outset of the referendum, the people’s mandate has been disregarded as the new parliament begins its journey.”
Shortly afterwards, however, statements confirmed that they would take both oaths. The alliance later announced it would boycott the swearing-in ceremony of the BNP-led cabinet in protest.
Who else did not take the Reform Council oath?
Ganatantra Sanghati Andolon Chief Coordinator Zonayed Saki and Gono Odhikar Parishad President Nurul Haque Nur did not take oath as Reform Council members.
Nur, elected from Patuakhali-3, along with five others—including independents—took oath as MPs at 1:35pm but did not recite the Reform Council oath. Around 1:45pm, Zonayed Saki, elected from Brahmanbaria-6, was sworn in as an MP but also declined the second oath.
BNP rebel independent MP Rumeen Farhana similarly did not take oath as a Reform Council member.
Later in the afternoon, BNP Chairperson Tarique Rahman was sworn in as the country’s 11th prime minister by Mohammed Shahabuddin at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. The Jamaat-led 11-party alliance boycotted the cabinet swearing-in ceremony.