Newly elected Members of Parliament (MPs) will take oath on Tuesday as members of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad. They are also scheduled to be sworn in simultaneously as members of the Constitution Reform Council under the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order 2025.
The oath will be administered by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin at the oath-taking room of the Jatiya Sangsad, as the posts of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 12th Parliament are currently vacant.
According to Parliament Secretariat Secretary Kaniz Moula, the newly elected BNP-backed MPs will take oath at 10am, followed by MPs from Jamaat-e-Islami at 12pm.
She confirmed that both the parliamentary oath and the oath as members of the Constitution Reform Council will be administered during the same ceremony.
On Monday, EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed wrote to the Parliament Secretariat requesting necessary arrangements for the swearing-in ceremony, as the CEC is constitutionally authorised to administer the oath in the absence of the Speaker.
However, the move to administer an oath for the Constitution Reform Council has sparked debate.
BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed raised constitutional concerns, questioning whether such an oath can legally be conducted at this stage.
He argued that while the Third Schedule of the Constitution specifies oath formats for various offices, including MPs, it does not mention any oath for members of a Constitution Reform Council.
Following the ceremony, newly sworn-in MPs will sign the oath book and provide fingerprints, photographs and digital signatures for the preparation of their official identity cards.
The 13th Parliamentary Election and the referendum on constitutional reforms were held on 12 February in 299 constituencies.
The Election Commission published the gazette for 297 elected candidates, while results in two constituencies remain withheld due to court orders. The election in Sherpur-3 was cancelled earlier following the death of a candidate.
In the polls, the BNP secured 209 seats, while Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami won 68 seats. Several smaller parties and independent candidates also gained representation. The BNP-led alliance secured a total of 212 seats, while the Jamaat-led alliance won 77 constituencies.
Under the Implementation Order 2025, elected representatives will serve simultaneously as MPs and members of the Constitution Reform Council. The Council has been mandated to implement the July National Charter and complete constitutional reforms within 180 working days of its formation, after which its tenure will automatically end.
According to Article 148 (2A) of the Constitution, if the designated authority fails to administer the oath within three days of the gazette notification, the Chief Election Commissioner is empowered to do so within the following three days.
The swearing-in ceremony will formally mark the beginning of the 13th Parliament’s journey amid both political expectations and constitutional debate.
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