BNP’s amazing cabinet to blend old and new faces
Reza Mahmud :
As the BNP achieved a brute majority in the 13th National Parliamentary Election, it is preparing to form a government shortly.
Party insiders said BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman is finalising the list of the names for the new cabinet, composing experienced and youth, elected and unelected bright faces.
Sources said the government may be formed by 17 February, by forming a balanced cabinet of experience and new face, emphasis is being placed on implementing electoral pledges, accelerating administrative momentum, introducing new perspectives in policy-making, and fostering new leadership.
It may announce a 25 to 30 member cabinet in the first phase while the main shape of the government will be exposed later by stage.
BNP is considering including several ministers from its 2001-2006 terms in the current cabinet. Sources indicate that individuals who headed ministries that remained above controversy, or those with a ‘clean image’, will be entrusted with various responsibilities.
When contacted, BNP Standing Committee’s senior member Dr. Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain told The New Nation, “Everything including forming the BNP’s new government would be suitable for govern the country towards building a prosperous Bangladesh.”
He said, “What is needed for future Bangladesh, the BNP is preparing for those things.”
Among them, BNP Standing Committee Senior Member Dr. Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain or the party’s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir considered as the president.
Standing Committee Member Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan is considered for the Parliament’s speaker.
The rest of the members of the party’s highest policy making body the Standing Committee Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Dr. Abdul Moyeen Khan, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Salahuddin Ahmed, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, Major (retd) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed and Professor Dr. A. Z. M. Zahid Hossain will be taken to different ministry.
Party insiders said Mirza Abbas is mulling to get responsibility of the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy Ministry of Social Welfare, Salahuddin Ahmed – Ministry of Local Government, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury – Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Commerce, Dr AZM Zahid Hossain Ministry of Health, Reza Kibria for the Ministry of Finance, ANM Ehsanul Haq Milan – Ministry of Education.
Meanwhile, several of the bright leaders of the party have not contested the election including Standing Committee Member Nazrul Islam Khan, Vice Chairman Shamsuzzaman Dudu, Chairman’s Advisory Council Member Sayed Moazzem Hossain Alal, Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi are being considered to be technocrat minister.
Sources said, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi may be take for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (technocrat), Ismail Zabiullah: Ministry of Public Administration (technocrat), Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie: state minister for Home Affairs, and Humayun Kabir (foreign adviser to the chairman): state minister for Foreign Affairs (technocrat).
Mia Nuruddin Apu, Shama Obaed Islam will be among the new face in the surprising cabinet, sources said.
Previously, the BNP high ups said they will form government with the other party’s but after getting landslide victory in the election, BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman in an interview with UK based broadcaster Reuters, said the party is confident enough to form government alone.
According to the constitution, the formation of the new government will begin with the swearing-in of newly elected members of parliament.
The president will appoint the prime minister based on a majority of MPs. Following the prime minister’s oath, the formation of the cabinet will commence, the size of which will be determined by the winning party.
Several members of the party’s Standing Committee, on condition of anonymity, said that discussions are ongoing regarding the formation of the council of ministers.
They said, BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman discussing the process with them. The thing will be declared soon.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir earlier said the government supposed to be formed by the 15th of this month, but it has been delayed and considering to be formed by 17th February.
The Election Commission has published its official gazette on newly elected members of Parliament.
The Election Commission has released the official gazette listing the newly elected Members of Parliament.
Before a new cabinet can assume office, the Commission is required to publish the gazette of the final results.
Once it is issued, the president will convene the first sitting of parliament, and the swearing-in ceremony will formally inaugurate the new legislature.
As stipulated in Article 148 of the Constitution, newly elected MPs must be sworn in within three days of the gazette’s publication.
The three-day period is counted from the date the gazette is issued-not from the announcement of provisional results. Traditionally, the oath is administered by the outgoing speaker.
However, following the mass uprising in 2024, Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury resigned on 2 September.
The former deputy speaker, Shamsul Haque Tuku, remains in custody and has not stepped down.
In this situation, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud told the media that under Article 148, the speaker-or, in the speaker’s absence, the deputy speaker-administers the oath to newly elected MPs.
He added that if neither the speaker nor the deputy speaker is available, the chief election commissioner will conduct the oath-taking ceremony within three days, beginning from the fourth day after the gazette is published.
The Commission announced provisional results for 297 constituencies. Although voting took place in 299 seats, results for Chattogram-2 and Chattogram-4 were withheld due to pending court cases involving the winning candidates.
According to the preliminary outcome, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won 209 seats, while Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami secured 68, making it the second-largest party.
Other victors included the National Citizen Party (NCP) with six seats, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis with two, and seven independent candidates.
Additional parties that captured a single seat each were Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Gono Odhikar Parishad, Ganosamhati Andolon, Bangladesh Jatiya Party, and Khelafat Majlis.
Voter turnout stood at 59.44 percent, according to EC Public Relations Director Ruhul Amin Mallik. Of the 127,711,793 registered voters, 75,359,684 cast their votes. A total of 2,028 candidates representing 50 political parties, along with independents, contested in 299 constituencies.
The complete results were announced at 3:50pm, nearly 24 hours after polling concluded at 4:30pm.
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin explained that the inclusion of referendum and postal ballots caused the delay in finalising the results, but emphasised that there was no opportunity for manipulation or irregularities.