49 women MPs from reserved seats take oath

A total of 49 newly-elected Members of Parliament (MPs) from the reserved seats for women in the 13th National Parliament have formally taken oath, completing the formation of the legislature.

The oath-taking ceremony was held on Sunday at the Parliament Secretariat. Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed administered the oath to the newly elected lawmakers.

The ceremony took place at 9:00 pm in the oath room located on Level 1 of the East Block of the Parliament building. With this swearing-in, the 13th National Parliament has now assumed its full composition.

Earlier, on April 30, the Bangladesh Election Commission published an official gazette declaring 49 candidates elected unopposed to the reserved women’s seats.

Among the valid candidates, 36 were from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance, 12 from the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance, and one independent candidate. All 49 were declared elected unopposed.

The 36 MPs elected from the BNP include Selima Rahman, Shirin Sultana, Rasheda Begum Hira, Rehana Akter Ranu, Newaz Halima Early, Mosammat Farida Yasmin, Bilkis Islam, Shakila Farzana, Helen Jerin Khan, Nilufar Chowdhury Moni, Nipun Roy Chowdhury, Jeba Amin Khan, Mahmuda Habiba, Sabira Sultana, Sansila Jebrin, Sanjida Islam Tuli, Sultana Ahmed, Fahmida Haque, Anna Minj, Subarna Shikdar, Shamima Ara Begum Swapna, Shammi Akter, Ferdousi Ahmed, Bithika Binte Hossain, Suraiya Jerin, Mansura Akter, Joharat Adib Chowdhury, Momtaz Alam, Fahima Nasrin, Arifa Sultana, Sanjida Yasmin, Shawkat Ara Akter, Madhabi Marma, Selina Sultana and Rezeka Sultana.

Nusrat Tabassum of the NCP will take the oath later as her candidature was initially declared illegal, for she had submitted her nomination 19 minutes after the deadline.

However, she was cleared by the High Court and the EC declared her elected on Sunday.

mirmostafiz@yahoo.com