The new cabinet members are likely to be sworn in by February 18 while the oath of the freshly elected lawmakers is likely to be held on Tuesday.

Chief election commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin will administer the oath of the lawmakers on Tuesday morning, said an adviser to the interim government on Saturday.

The CEC will administer the oath as per article 148 of the constitution as the speaker and deputy speaker of the 12th Jatiya Sangsad are unable to administer the oath, said the adviser.

Earlier in the day, interim government chief adviser’s press secretary Shafiqul Alam on Saturday said that the oath of the new  government would be administered very soon.

‘Even if there is a delay, it will take place by February 16 or 17,’ he said while briefing journalists at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party is going to form the government, led by party chairman Tarique Rahman, as the party secured majority in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad elections held on Thursday.

Cabinet secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid while talking to journalists on Saturday at his secretariat office said that after the oath-taking of the lawmakers, political parties that took part in the election would elect their respective parliamentary party leaders.

The person to be selected as the leader of the majority will inform the president that he or she commands the confidence of the majority in the Jatiya Sangsad, he said.

The president will then, in accordance with the relevant rules, appoint him or her as prime minister or formally invite him to form the government.

After that, a convenient time will be fixed for the prime minister’s oath-taking ceremony.

The cabinet secretary also said that president Mohammed Sahabuddin would administer the oath to new cabinet members in accordance with the constitution.

He also said that they were preparing to invite around one thousand guests to attend the oath-taking ceremony of the new cabinet.

Asked about the number of new cabinet members, the cabinet secretary said, ‘It depends on the person who will be the Leader of the House, the prime minister. It’s up to them how many ministers they want now or later.’

The 13th Jatiya Sangsad elections, along with a referendum, were held on Thursday, with the BNP securing an absolute majority of 209 of the 297 seats and being mandated to form the government.

Apart from this, the BNP’s former ally, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, won 68 seats and is set to be opposition party in parliament.

The Election Commission published a gazette notification specifying the 297 elected Members of Parliament on Friday night.

After the 12th JS election in 2024, the Awami Leaguehad formed the government and Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury had assumed office as speaker. She is currently in hiding being accused in a number of cases.

Besides, former state minister Shamsul Haque Tuku had taken office as deputy speaker in the 12th JS. He is now in jail as an accused in a case.

As a result, a perceived complication arose over who will administer the oath to the newly elected lawmakers.