• Maldives President Muizzu, Bhutanese Premier Tobgay, Pakistani Planning Minister Iqbal, UK official Malhotra join outgoing interim gov't leader and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus at ceremony

DHAKA, Bangladesh

Bangladesh National Party (BNP) leader Tarique Rahman on Tuesday took the oath of office as the 11th prime minister of the South Asian nation.

Bangladesh's President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath to the BNP chairman and 49-member Cabinet, in front of the parliament building in the capital Dhaka.

Earlier Tuesday, 297 lawmakers, including those from the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami-led bloc, were sworn in for the 13th parliament, elected in last week’s historic elections, the first time since the 2024 uprising, which uprooted the 15-year-long government of the Awami League.

Foreign leaders and officials joined the outgoing interim government leader and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, and his team during the oath taking ceremony.

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Bhutan's Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, and UK Under-Secretary Seema Malhotra were among the foreign guests.

The interim government has ruled the country since Aug. 8, 2024, after Awami League leader and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India on Aug. 5.

Yunus and his team held elections last week, resulting in Bangladesh’s first elected government in 18 months.

The Awami League was barred from last week’s elections, as the BNP and its allies secured a two-thirds majority of 212 seats.

In the 300-seat parliament, elections for three seats were postponed, while 50 additional seats reserved for women will be allotted to parties on the basis of their voting percentage.

More than 127.6 million people in Bangladesh were eligible to cast ballots last week when the country saw a voter turnout of 59.44%, up from 41.8% in the January 2024 elections.

A concurrent referendum held on constitutional reforms received an overwhelming vote in favor, exceeding 60%.