Hundreds of people gathered outside the National Assembly premises in Dhaka, where MPs took an oath of allegiance to Bangladesh.
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Published February 17, 2026
Newly elected Bangladeshi lawmakers were sworn in in parliament, days after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won a landslide victory in the first vote since the 2024 student-led riots that ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The BNP is expected to secure a two-thirds majority in last week’s election and form a new government, with Tarique Rahman expected to be sworn in as prime minister later on Tuesday.
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In the oath room of the parliament, the members took the oath from AMM Election Commissioner Nasir Uddin and swore allegiance to Bangladesh. Foreign dignitaries including Pakistan’s foreign minister and the speaker of Indian parliament were also present.
Ministers were scheduled to follow this up with another ceremony in front of the National Diet Building at 4pm (10pm Japan time).
Despite heavy security, hundreds of people gathered outside the compound throughout Tuesday to await trial.
“People really want change. They want to see new faces in parliament, people with good qualifications and even young people,” Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chaudhry said in an interview from the capital Dhaka.
“You’re going to see a lot of new faces. That’s to be expected. They want a new dynamic in Congress.”
The BNP won at least 212 seats in the 300-seat parliament, giving it a strong majority, while the Jamaat-e-Islami party won 77 seats. Hasina’s Awami League was barred from participating in the vote.
Rahman will take over the caretaker government that led the country for 18 months after Hasina’s ouster.
He will also be tasked with implementing the July National Charter, which includes more than 80 future reforms to Bangladesh’s governance system.
In a referendum held at the same time as the election, more than 60% of voters voted to pass the charter.
The comprehensive document introduces term limits, a bicameral parliament, and limits the ruling party’s ability to make unilateral amendments, among other things.
“Many fundamental and major changes are expected by the public, especially the young people behind the July riots,” Al Jazeera’s Chaudhry said. “They want to be represented in this Congress, and their voices must be heard.”
