49 MPs from reserved women seats take oath

The 49 newly elected MPs from the reserved women seats of the 13th National Parliament took oath unopposed. Yesterday, Sunday (May 3), Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed administered their oath. Last Thursday (April 30), the Election Commission announced the names of 49 members from the reserved women seats and published the gazette. Of these 49, 36 were elected from the BNP alliance, 12 from the Jamaat alliance and one from an independent alliance.
It is worth noting that NCP’s Nusrat Tabassum could not take oath today as the gazette was not published despite her nomination being valid. Another NCP leader, Monira Islam Moni, has already written to the Election Commission to stop the gazette publication of Nusrat. The Prime Minister and top leaders of the government and opposition parties were present at the swearing-in ceremony held at the National Parliament Building. After the oath-taking, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman exchanged greetings with all the newly elected members.
At the event, ruling party Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni expressed hope that even though they do not have specific seats in parliament, these members will play an important role in women’s empowerment. The sworn-in MPs pledged to discharge their duties faithfully and in accordance with the law. They said that they would not only play an effective role in women’s empowerment but also in making parliament the main center of accountability in the country. In particular, the opposition MPs expressed their strong determination to uphold parliamentary democracy and the rule of law.