Dhaka’s Historic Power Transition
New Members of Parliament Sworn in Amidst Landslide Victory for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Tarique Rahman is Set to Become the New Prime Minister as BNP Lawmakers Refuse to Take a ‘Second Oath’ for a Constitution Reform Commission.
A New Political Era Begins
On Tuesday, February 17 2026 something big happened at the Jatiya Sangsad in Dhaka. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies started taking control of the government after a time. This happened after the General Elections on February 12.
There were two events that day. One was the swearing-in of the Members of Parliament. The other was an oath for a Constitution Reform Commission. The first event was happy. Many people were interested. The second event caused an argument between the new ruling party and the old government.
The Swearing-In of New Members of Parliament
At 10:43 AM the Chief Election Commissioner, A.M.M. Nasir Uddin gave the oath to the lawmakers. Tarique Rahman, the Chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party was one of the first to take the oath. The official results show that the BNP won a lot of seats:
- BNP won 209 seats
- BNP and its allies won a total of 212 seats, which is a two-thirds majority
- The main opposition party, Jamaat-e-Islami Alliance won 77 seats
- 60% of people voted, which is a high number
Later that day President Mohammed Shahabuddin was supposed to give the oath to Tarique Rahman as the new Prime Minister. This would make Tarique Rahman the man to be Prime Minister in over 30 years.
The Argument Over the Constitution Reform Commission
There was a problem. The Election Commission said that all lawmakers had to take an oath for a Constitution Reform Commission. The BNP did not agree with this. They said they were elected to follow the Constitution not to reform it. Salahuddin Ahmed, a member of the BNP said:
“We were elected to uphold the existing Constitution. We were not elected to reform it. So we will not take part in a ceremony that’s not legal.”
The End of the Interim Government
The swearing-in of the Members of Parliament marked the end of the interim government led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus. In his speech Dr. Yunus asked the new government to protect the people and ensure that the country remains stable.
The New Government Faces Challenges
The new government has a lot of work to do. They need to fix the economy stop violence and reform the Constitution. The whole world is watching, India. The new Prime Minister, Tarique Rahman has a job ahead of him. The argument, over the Constitution Reform Commission is the beginning of a bigger battle.
