Mirza Fakhrul Islam takes oath as president

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has taken the oath as president. The oath taking ceremony was completed at Bangabhaban at 7:38 pm on Friday. Acting Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad Kaisar Kamal administered the oath to the country’s 23rd president. Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Gani conducted the ceremony.

Acting President Hafiz Uddin Ahmad arrived at Bangabhaban first in the afternoon. Then at around 5:50 pm the motorcade of the new president and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman entered Bangabhaban. Army Chief General Waker Uz Zaman, Navy Chief Vice Admiral Khondkar Misbah Ul Azim and Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmud Khan entered Bangabhaban at 6:25 pm to attend the oath taking ceremony.At around 7:30 pm everyone entered the Durbar Hall of Bangabhaban. The oath taking ceremony was held there. The Chief Justice, members of the Cabinet, foreign diplomats, members of parliament, senior civilian and military officials and former Chief Adviser Dr. Yunus were present at the ceremony.

The national anthem and Quran recitation were held at the beginning of the ceremony. Acting Speaker Kaisar Kamal then administered the presidential oath to Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. The newly elected president then administered the oath to four new members of the Cabinet.

Bangabhaban and Cabinet Division sources said around 1,500 invitation cards were distributed for the oath taking ceremony.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman sat in the front row of the Durbar Hall. Former Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus, President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir’s wife Rahat Ara Begum, Arafat Rahman Koko’s wife Syeda Shamila Rahman and the prime minister’s daughter Zaima Rahman were also seated there.

Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury was present along with Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Shafiqul Rahman, BNP Standing Committee Member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, Social Welfare Minister AZM Zahid Hossain, Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman and BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi. BNP Standing Committee Member Abdul Moyeen Khan and the three service chiefs were seated in the last row.

Also present were Nagarik Oikya President Mahmudur Rahman Manna, Jatiya Party Kazi Zafar Chairman Mostafa Jamal Haider, Saiful Haque of the Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Jatiya Party Chairman Andaleeb Rahman Partha. BNP Standing Committee Members Goyeshwar Chandra Roy and Selima Rahman were also present along with Chairman’s Advisory Council Member Barkat Ullah Bulu, Joint Secretary General Khairul Kabir Khokon and Habib Un Nabi Khan Sohail. Cabinet members, members of parliament, businesspeople, professionals, teachers, editors, lawyers, engineers and leaders of political parties were also present.

Meanwhile, invited guests began arriving at Bangabhaban from the afternoon for the oath taking ceremony. Additional security measures were in place at Bangabhaban and the surrounding areas.

According to the ceremonial tradition of Bangabhaban, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir sat down to sign the oath book after taking the oath as president. At that time the newly elected president Mirza Fakhrul and Acting Speaker Kaisar Kamal sat side by side on two chairs. After completing the signing formalities, the new president moved to the chair in the middle. He assumed the presidential chair from there.

Major Hafiz Uddin and Kaisar Kamal sat on the two chairs on either side of the president. After the oath taking ceremony another rendition of the national anthem was held and refreshments were served.

Mohammad Shahabuddin resigned as president on July 24. In accordance with the Constitution, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad assumed the responsibilities of the president. Deputy Speaker Kaisar Kamal then assumed the responsibilities of the speaker.