Dhaka, May 4 (V7N) — Newly elected members of parliament to the reserved women’s seats in Bangladesh’s 13th National Parliament were sworn in on Sunday night, completing a major phase in the fabrication of the legislature.

The oath-taking ceremony began at 9:00 pm in the parliament’s oath room, where Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed administered the oath to the members. After taking the oath, the MPs signed the official register and the members’ record book. They later completed formal procedures, including identity registration, photography, and biometric fingerprint collection.

The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister and Leader of the House Tarique Rahman, Local Government Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Law Minister Md. Asaduzzaman, Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam, and Jamaat-e-Islami MP ATM Azharul Islam, among others. The event was conducted by Parliament Secretariat Secretary Md. Golam Sarwar Bhuiyan.

According to the Election Commission gazette published on April 30, a total of 49 candidates were declared elected unopposed. Among them, 36 are from the BNP, 12 from the Jamaat-led alliance, and one from an independent alliance.

However, one seat remains unresolved. Nusrat Tabassum Jyoti, a candidate of the National Citizen Party (NCP), was declared valid by the returning officer after scrutiny at the Election Commission office in Agargaon, Dhaka. Despite this, her official gazette notification has not yet been issued, preventing her from taking the oath.

Meanwhile, NCP Joint Convener Monira Sharmin has requested the Election Commission to withhold the gazette publication until the High Court disposes of a writ petition related to the candidacy. The hearing is scheduled for Monday.

Officials have not yet announced when Nusrat Tabassum Jyoti will take oath, pending the court’s decision.

END/AJ/SMA/