Bangladesh’s prime minister-to-be Tarique Rahman and 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 steered the country of 170 million people for 18 months since the autocratic government of Sheikh Hasina was overthrown.
The lawmakers, who promised loyalty to Bangladesh, were sworn in by the 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 to administer the oath of office to the prime minister and his ministers later on Tuesday afternoon.
Rahman, 60, chief of the BNP and scion of one of the country’s most powerful political dynasties, 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 has also warned of the challenges ahead, including tackling the economic woes of 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.
The new leader has pledged to restore stability and revive growth after months of turmoil that rattled investor confidence in the world’s second-largest garment exporter.
He has also called for all parties to “remain united” in a country polarised by years of bitter rivalry.
‘Peaceful opposition’
Rahman’s win marks a remarkable turnaround for a man who only returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in exile in Britain, far from Dhaka’s political storms.
The BNP coalition won 212 seats, compared with 77 for the Jamaat-i-Islami-led alliance.
Jamaat, which secured more than a quarter of seats in parliament — a four-fold increase on its previous best — has challenged results in 32 constituencies.
But Jamaat leader Shafiqur Rahman, 67, has also said the party would “serve as a vigilant, principled, and peaceful opposition”.
