Bangladesh lawmakers sworn in, marking new parliament

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s prime minister-designate Tariq Rahman and lawmakers were sworn in Tuesday in parliament, becoming the first elected representatives since a deadly 2024 coup.

Rahman is set to take over from an interim government that has ruled the country of 170 million people for 18 months since the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian rule.

The lawmakers, who pledged their loyalty to Bangladesh, were sworn in by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasiruddin.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) lawmakers are expected to formally elect Rahman as their leader, after which President Mohammad Shahabuddin will administer the oath of office to the prime minister and his ministers later Tuesday afternoon.

Rahman, 60, the BNP chief and scion of one of the country’s most powerful political families, won a landslide victory in the February 12 election.

“This victory belongs to Bangladesh, to democracy,” he said in his victory speech on Saturday.

“This victory belongs to those who have desired and sacrificed for democracy.”

But he also warned of challenges ahead, including dealing with the economic woes of the world’s second-largest garment exporter.

“We are about to embark on our journey in a situation marked by a weak economy left behind by an authoritarian regime, weak constitutional and legal institutions, and a deteriorating law and order situation,” he added in his victory speech.

The new leader has vowed to restore stability and revive growth after months of turmoil that have dented investor confidence in the world’s second-largest garment exporter.

He also called on all parties to “remain united” in a country that has been plagued by years of bitter rivalry.

– ‘Peaceful opposition’ –

Rahman’s victory marks a remarkable turnaround for a man who returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in exile in Britain, far from the political storms of Dhaka.

The BNP alliance won 212 seats, while the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance won 77.

The party, which won more than a quarter of the seats in parliament — four times its previous best — has challenged the results in 32 constituencies.

But the party’s leader, Shafiqur-ur-Rehman, 67, has also said the Islami party will “act as a vigilant, principled and peaceful opposition”.

Hasina’s Awami League party was barred from contesting the election.

Hasina, 78, who was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity, issued a statement in India denouncing the “illegal” election.

But India praised the BNP’s “decisive victory” – a remarkable turnaround after deeply strained relations.

Only seven women were directly elected, although another 50 seats reserved for women will be allocated to parties according to their share of the vote.

Four members of minority communities won seats, including two Hindus – a population that makes up about seven percent of the population in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

Despite weeks of turmoil before the election, voting day passed without major unrest and the country has so far responded to the results with relative calm.

“If the BNP can do a good job with the economy, it will make everything else easier for the government,” said Crisis Group analyst Thomas Kane.

“This will help create a level of stability, to address many other challenges beyond the economy.”