BANGLADESH's prime minister-to-be Tarique Rahman and newly elected lawmakers were sworn into parliament on Tuesday, becoming the first elected representatives since a deadly 2024 uprising.
Rahman is set to take over from an interim government that has run the country of 170 million people for 18 months since the government of Sheikh Hasina was overthrown.
The lawmakers, who pledged loyalty to Bangladesh, were sworn in by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) lawmakers are expected to formally elect Rahman as their leader, with President Mohammed Shahabuddin then administering the oath of office to the prime minister and his ministers later on Tuesday afternoon.
Rahman, 60, the chief of the BNP, won a landslide victory in the February 12 elections.
“This victory belongs to Bangladesh, belongs to democracy,” he said in his victory speech on Saturday.
“This victory belongs to people who aspire to and have sacrificed for democracy.”
But he warned of challenges ahead, including tackling economic problems in the world’s second-largest garment exporter.
“We are about to begin our journey in a situation marked by a fragile economy left behind by the authoritarian regime, weakened constitutional and statutory institutions, and a deteriorating law and order situation,” he added in his victory speech.
Rahman has pledged to restore stability and revive growth after months of turmoil that rattled investor confidence. He also called for all parties to “remain united” in a country polarised by years of rivalry.
‘Peaceful opposition’
Rahman’s win marks a turnaround after he returned to Bangladesh in December following 17 years in exile in Britain.
The BNP coalition won 212 seats, compared with 77 for the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance.
Jamaat, which secured more than a quarter of seats in parliament — a four-fold increase on its previous best — has challenged the results in 32 constituencies.
But Jamaat leader Shafiqur Rahman, 67, said the Islamist party would “serve as a vigilant, principled, and peaceful opposition”.
Hasina’s Awami League party was barred from taking part in the elections.
Hasina, 78, who was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity, issued a statement from hiding in India, calling the election “illegal”.
India praised the BNP’s “decisive win”, a shift after strained ties.
Only seven women were directly elected, although a further 50 seats reserved for women will be allocated to parties based on their share of the vote.
Four members of minority communities won seats, including two Hindus — a population that makes up roughly seven per cent of Muslim-majority Bangladesh.
Despite weeks of turbulence ahead of the polls, 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,” Crisis Group analyst Thomas Kean said.
“It will help to create a level of stability to tackle the many other challenges beyond the economy.”
(With inputs from agencies)
