Jamaat’s Newly Elected Candidates Take Oath as Members of Parliament and Constitutional Reform Council

PNN News Desk. Dhaka

The newly elected candidates of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami have taken oath as Members of the 13th National Parliament and as members of the Constitutional Reform Council. The oath ceremonies were held in two separate sessions on Tuesday at the oath room of the National Parliament Building.

At 12:23 pm, they took oath as Members of Parliament. At 12:27 pm, they took oath as members of the Constitutional Reform Council. Chief Election Commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin administered both oaths.

Earlier in the morning, the party’s Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher stated that if BNP MPs did not take oath as members of the Constitutional Reform Council, then Jamaat’s newly elected members would also refrain from taking any oath. He argued that without necessary reforms, the effectiveness of Parliament would be questionable. However, ultimately Jamaat candidates took both oaths.

On the other hand, BNP’s elected MPs took oath as Members of Parliament shortly before 10:45 am on Tuesday but refrained from taking oath as members of the Constitutional Reform Council.

Before the oath ceremony began, Salahuddin Ahmed, newly elected MP from Cox’s Bazar-1 and a BNP Standing Committee member, told party members that they were elected under the Constitution as MPs but were not elected as members of the Constitutional Reform Council. Therefore, taking that oath was not applicable to them.

The differing positions of the two parties have sparked fresh political discussions. Observers believe debates surrounding the Constitutional Reform Council may intensify both inside and outside Parliament.