Forty-nine newly elected members of parliament from the reserved women’s seats of the 13th National Parliament have taken oath. Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed administered their oath at a ceremony held at the National Parliament Building at 9 pm on Sunday.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was present at the ceremony.
Earlier, the Election Commission published a gazette declaring 49 women elected unopposed from reserved seats. However, the results are still pending due to legal complications related to candidacy in one seat.
According to the gazette, based on the party seat distribution, 36 members from the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its alliance, 12 from the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance, and one independent candidate have become members of parliament for reserved women seats.
The swearing-in ceremony officially marked the start of the activities of the reserved seats for women in parliament, which those concerned believe will further strengthen women’s participation in the lawmaking process.