Sheikh Hasina Takes Oath As Prime Minister Of Bangladesh For The Fifth Time

Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina took oath as Bangladesh’s prime minister on Thursday for a fifth term, just days after the main opposition BNP and its allies boycotted the general elections, which she led by an overwhelming majority. At a ceremony held at the Bangabhaban Presidential Palace here, politicians, foreign diplomats, members of civil society, and senior military and civil officials attended as President Mohammad Shahabuddin administered the oath of office to Hasina, 76. She is set to become the 12th prime minister, having held the position for four terms in a row and five terms total.

Majority win of 223 seats out of 300

Since 2009, Hasina, the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s founder, has ruled Bangladesh, a strategically located country in South Asia. She is among the world’s longest-serving female heads of government. The president swore in the newly appointed cabinet members after the prime minister. 223 seats in the 300-member Parliament were won by Hasina’s party.

Against After their demand for a non-party caretaker government to oversee the January 7 elections was denied, the former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), boycotted the elections.

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Hasina’s new cabinet

For her fourth consecutive term in office, Hasina formed her government. In her Cabinet, she has appointed eleven state ministers and twenty-five ministers. “We have not got the (new) ministers and state ministers’ portfolios yet but it is expected to be announced later Thursday,” a cabinet division official told PTI.

AK Abdul Momen, the foreign minister, AHM Mostafa Kamal, the finance minister, Abdul Mannan, the planning minister, Abdur Razzak, the agriculture minister, and Tipu Munshi, the commerce minister, have all been removed by Hasina from her new Cabinet. The new list did not include the names of 13 junior ministers, including junior minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam, out of the 18 state ministers in the outgoing government.

Different nations congratulated Hasina

Following her victory, Russia, China, and India congratulated Hasina. All of the Middle Eastern and Far Eastern nations, Saudi Arabia and Japan included, congratulated the ruling Awami League on their reelection. Nonetheless, the United Nations voiced its concerns about the election, as did the Western countries, particularly the United States and the United Kingdom, who were demanding that the Bangladeshi election be inclusive.