Bangladesh's new cabinet to take oath on February 17

Dhaka: Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin will administer the oath of office to the new cabinet of BNP chairman Tarique Rahman on February 17 at the National Parliament complex's South Plaza, a deviation from the tradition of the ceremony being held at the presidential palace, according to officials.

"We have been informed that the President will administer the oath of office (to the new cabinet) on Tuesday at the Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) complex," a Bangabhaban (presidential palace) official said on the condition of anonymity on Saturday.

According to Prothom Alo and Ittefaq newspapers, the ceremony would be followed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin administering the oath of office to the newly elected parliament members instead of Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, as stated in the Constitution.

According to the Third Schedule of the Constitution, the CEC is the third choice for the job in the absence of the outgoing parliament's speaker and deputy speaker.

Earlier, Cabinet Secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid said that in line with the Constitution, the President would administer the oath to the new cabinet at Bangabhaban. He, however, did not give a date for the ceremony.

"If we are instructed or indicated that it will be held on a certain date and at a certain time, we will work accordingly. Even if it is tomorrow, we will have to prepare for tomorrow," the top bureaucrat said.

The Constitution requires the cabinet oath-taking ceremony to be followed by the swearing in of new parliament members.

Earlier on Saturday, one of Rahman's key aides, who did not wish to be named, said the existing scenario made things a little complicated.

"The speaker of the last parliament is supposed to administer the oath of office to the MPs, but she resigned and is living in an undisclosed location while the deputy speaker is in jail," he said.

In these circumstances, he said, the President might select someone to administer the oath and "the Constitution kept a provision for that".

Meanwhile, the public administration issued a statement saying that Muhammad Yunus' interim government had scrapped Cabinet Secretary Rashid's contractual appointment, replacing him with Siraj Uddin Mia, who is currently serving as Chief Adviser Yunus' principal secretary.

Rashid, however, told reporters that he resigned a few days ago and his resignation was accepted on Saturday.

Yunus' interim government appointed Rashid, a retired additional secretary to the government, as the top bureaucrat on October 14, 2024, for two years.