'A change in leadership was one of the main aspirations of the 2024 popular uprising.'
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Two-thirds of new MPs have been elected in Bangladesh. A total of 209 MPs are new out of the 297 seats that have been counted.
Of the 209 members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), 132 are new. Of the 68 members of the Jamaat-e-Islami, 59 are new. All six members of the National Citizens Party (NCP), which was formed after the student movement, are new. Of the seven independents, six are first-time voters.
A total of eight parties will be represented in the new parliament, with five of their top leaders being elected as MPs for the first time. BNP Chairman Tariq Rahman, Jamaat chief Shafiq Rahman, NCP leader Nahid Islam, Gano Samhati Movement leader Jonayad Saki and Gono Rights Council leader Nurul Haque Noor are new.
Tariq will be sworn in as prime minister next week. Shafiq is the leader of the main opposition party.
Parliamentary affairs expert Nizam Ahmed said it was “unprecedented” for both the leader of the house and the opposition leader to be MPs for the first time.
Professor SK Taufiq M Haque, director of the South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance at North South University in Dhaka, expects the new MPs to do an effective job.
‘If we look at the period from 1991 to 2008, the parliament was ineffective because of the old leaders. Having new members in parliament can create an opportunity for change. A change in leadership was one of the main aspirations of the 2024 people’s uprising,’ he said. ‘If the newcomers can change their mindset, there will be a deeper debate and dialogue within the parliament. Political parties will not have to take to the streets to air their grievances.’
Taufiq expressed hope that the first-time MPs will reflect the aspirations of the people’s uprising. ‘People wanted a change in the old leadership. They wanted new faces, they wanted young people,’ he said.
