BNP MPs Sworn In, Skip Reform Oath

212 lawmakers take parliamentary pledge; Constitution Commission move sparks divide

February 17, 2026: Members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) elected in the recent parliamentary polls were sworn in at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban on Tuesday. A total of 212 MPs from the BNP-led alliance took the oath of office after the Election Commission of Bangladesh announced that the ceremony would include both the parliamentary oath and participation in a proposed Constitution Reforms Commission. However, BNP lawmakers declined to take the additional oath linked to the reform body, and within minutes of the ceremony, senior leader Tarique Rahman led party MPs out for the first meeting of the BNP Parliamentary Party to discuss Cabinet formation.

Senior BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed had earlier signalled the party’s refusal to join the reform commission, arguing that the second oath could conflict with MPs’ constitutional pledge to uphold Bangladesh’s Constitution. Reports suggested that Parliament was expected to function as a reform body for 180 days, a proposal that has drawn mixed reactions. Meanwhile, members of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance initially delayed their swearing-in amid uncertainty but later took both the parliamentary and reform commission oaths, along with independent candidates.

Speaking after the ceremony, BNP Standing Committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury described the development as a “new beginning of democracy,” saying the party honoured the voters’ mandate by taking the parliamentary oath. He maintained that participation in the reform commission did not align with the spirit of the existing Constitution and stressed that accepting or rejecting a specific oath was an individual decision. The episode has underscored emerging divisions over the proposed constitutional reform process even as the new Parliament begins functioning.