Newly elected MPs of the four-party alliance, led by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Khaleda Zia, took oath on Tuesday as members of the eighth Parliament.
Speaker Abdul Hamid conducted the swearing-in ceremony at the oath hall of the Parliament building at around 1030 hrs. Ms Zia will take over as the new prime minister on Wednesday. President justice Shahabuddin Ahmed will administer her the oath of office at the President House in Dhaka.
In today's ceremony leaders of the BNP's partners in the alliance, Maulana Matiur Rahman Nizami of Jamaat-e-Islami and Fazlul Huq Aminee of Islami Oikya Jote, took oath as MPs. The Awami League has not yet decided on taking oath as it made allegations of massive rigging and manipulation in the October 1 general election.
MPs of Jatiya Party (Ershad) are likely to take oath on Wednesday.
The BNP-led alliance secured an overwhelming two-third majority, winning 214 seats in the 300-member Parliament, of which the Awami League got 62, Jatiya Party 14 and Others 8. Bureau Report