Bangladesh sets stage for Tarique Rahman-led government

• Foreign dignitaries from six South Asian nations and the UK expected at swearing-in ceremony

DHAKA, Bangladesh

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is set to form government Tuesday, after winning landslide in last week's elections, 18 months after the Awami League government was ousted in 2024.

BNP chairman Tarique Rahman, 60, son of former prime minister the late Khaleda Zia and assasinated President Ziaur Rahman, is expected to become prime minister. His BNP secured two-thirds of parliamentary seats, marking the party's return to power after 20 years. Rahman himself returned home last December after 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom.

The BNP won 209 of 300 seats, while Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami-led bloc emerged as the main opposition with 77 seats. Elections on three seats has been postponed.

Officials said the 297 newly elected lawmakers will be administered the oath of office early Tuesday, after which Rahman is expected to be formally named prime ministerial candidate.

Premier, Cabinet swearing-in

Rahman and his Cabinet members will take their oaths later on Tuesday, Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani told reporters in Dhaka on Monday.

High-profile foreign representatives are expected to attend the ceremony, including Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Indian Parliament Speaker Om Birla, Pakistan Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhary, Nepal Foreign Minister Bala Nanda Sharma, Sri Lanka Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, and the United Kingdom’s Under-Secretary for Indo-Pacific Affairs, Seema Malhotra.

The interim government has prepared cars and housing for the newly elected lawmakers and the Cabinet of some three dozen ministers.

"So far, we have prepared 37 houses. Preparations are underway to build a few more houses, if necessary,” Adilur Rahman Khan, the outgoing interim government's housing and public works advisor, told reporters on Monday.

In its last government in 2001, the BNP Cabinet had 60 members.

Once Rahman and his Cabinet are sworn in, the 20-member interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus will hand over power.

The interim government was formed after the July 2024 uprising ended the 15-year rule of Awami League Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India on Aug. 5, 2024.

Yunus and his team took office on Aug. 8, 2024, and held elections last week, resulting in Bangladesh’s first elected government in 18 months.