Newly elected AL MPs take oath; Oikyafront skips

Hossen Sohel of DOT :
The newly-elected members of parliament (MPs) from Awami League yesterday took oath at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, reports The Daily Observer.
However, Jatiya Oikyafront MPs elect skipped the swearing-in programme that began at the Oath Room at 11:00am.
Outgoing Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury first took oath herself as an MP and then administered the oath to other AL MPs.
Senior Secretary of Parliament Secretariat Dr Zafar Ahmed Khan conducted the oath-taking ceremony.
bdnews24.com adds : The ruling Awami League and its close allies with the boat symbol have swept the results of the 11th national election held on Sunday, securing 267 seats.
Jatiya Party, an ally in the ruling party-led coalition, came in second with 20 seats with the plough symbol, but its leaders are yet to decide whether the party will remain on as the main opposition party.
The Jatiya Oikya Front, the opposition alliance that includes the BNP, won seven seats. The alliance has rejected the outcome of the election as ‘farcical’ citing rigging and violence.
The Oikya Front said it will not be participating in the ceremony, and instead announced plans to demand a fresh election by submitting a memorandum to the Election Commission around 3pm.
All ‘paddy-sheaf’ candidates have been called for a meeting with BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, scheduled at the chairperson’s Gulshan offices at 11am Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Election Commission published a gazette listing the details of winners from 298 constituencies.
The Bangladesh parliament comprises 300 seats for elected representatives. But votes were held at 299 constituencies, after the death of a candidate prior to the election led to the rescheduling of voting at Gaibandha-3.
On the election day, the outcome of the voting at Brahmanbaria-2 was halted due to violence during voting.