DHAKA (Web Desk) – Bangladesh’s newly elected prime minister, Tarique Rahman, has formally taken the oath of office following his party’s decisive victory in last week’s parliamentary elections. The ceremony was conducted by President Mohammed Shahabuddin at the national parliament in Dhaka.
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Rahman, leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, will serve a five-year term. He is the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia and former president Ziaur Rahman. His appointment also marks the first time in 35 years that a man has held the office, as Bangladesh had largely been governed by either Khaleda Zia or her long-time rival Sheikh Hasina since the country’s return to democracy in 1991.
In the election results, the BNP and its allies secured 212 seats in the 350-member parliament. An opposition alliance of 11 parties, led by Jamaat-e-Islami, won 77 seats. A new political group, the National Citizen Party, formed by student leaders involved in the 2024 uprising, secured six seats as part of the opposition bloc.
The elections were supervised by an interim administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which assumed power after the previous government was removed. International observers largely described the vote as peaceful and acceptable.
Several foreign dignitaries attended the swearing-in ceremony, including Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu and Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, along with delegations from regional countries.
Alongside the election, a referendum on constitutional reforms was also held. The proposed reforms include limits on prime ministerial terms and stronger checks on executive authority, although critics have raised concerns about potential impacts on Bangladesh’s traditionally secular constitutional framework.
