Bangladesh PM-to-be Tarique Rahman and lawmakers sworn into parliament

Bangladesh’s prime minister-to-be Tarique Rahman was sworn into parliament on Tuesday. The lawmakers were also sworn in. They became the first elected representatives since a deadly 2024 uprising.

Rahman is set to take over from an interim government. This government has steered the country of 170 million people for 18 months. This period began after 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. President Mohammed Shahabuddin will administer the oath of office to the prime minister. He will also administer the oath to the ministers later on Tuesday afternoon.

Rahman, 60, is the chief of the BNP. He is a scion of one of the country’s most powerful political dynasties. He 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 challenging situation. The economy is fragile, left behind by the authoritarian regime. Constitutional and statutory institutions are weakened. The law and order situation is deteriorating”, he added in his victory speech.

The new leader has pledged to restore stability. They aim to revive growth after months of turmoil. This unrest rattled investor confidence in the world’s second-largest garment exporter.

He has also called for all parties to “remain united” in a country polarized by years of bitter rivalry.

‘Peaceful opposition’

Rahman’s win marks a remarkable turnaround. He only returned to Bangladesh in December. This was 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 secured more than a quarter of seats in parliament. This marked a four-fold increase on its previous best. It 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”.

Hasina’s Awami League party was barred from taking part in the elections.

Hasina, 78, was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity. She issued a statement from hiding in India. In it, she decried an “illegal” election.

But India praised the BNP’s “decisive win” — a notable shift after deeply strained ties.

Only seven women were directly elected. A further 50 seats reserved for women will be allocated to parties. This allocation depends on their share of the vote.

Four members of minority communities won seats. This includes two Hindus. Hindus make up roughly seven percent of the population in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

Despite weeks of turbulence ahead of the polls, voting day passed without major unrest. The country has so far responded to the results with relative calm.

“If the BNP can do a good job with the economy, it will simplify other challenges for the government,” Crisis Group analyst Thomas Kean said.

“It will help to create a level of stability, to tackle the many other challenges beyond the economy.”

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