Two-Thirds of Bangladesh’s New Parliament Members Are First-Time Lawmakers

Nearly two-thirds of the newly elected members of parliament in Bangladesh are first-time lawmakers. Of the 297 seats where vote counting has been completed, a total of 209 MPs are newly elected.

Among the 209 MPs from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), 132 are new. Of the 68 MPs from Jamaat-e-Islami, 59 are first-time lawmakers. All six MPs from the National Citizen Party (NCP), which emerged after the student movement, are new. Similarly, six out of seven independent MPs have been elected for the first time.

The new parliament will have representation from eight political parties. Notably, the top leaders of five parties have been elected as MPs for the first time. BNP Chairperson Tarique Rahman, Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman, NCP leader Nahid Islam, Gano Samhati Andolon leader Jonayed Saki, and Gono Odhikar Parishad leader Nurul Haque Nur are all new MPs.

Tarique Rahman is scheduled to take the oath as Prime Minister next week, while Shafiqur Rahman will serve as Leader of the Opposition.

Parliamentary affairs expert Nizam Ahmed described it as “unprecedented” that both the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition are first-time MPs.

Professor S.K. Tawfique M. Haque, Director of the South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance at North South University in Dhaka, expressed hope that the new MPs would perform effectively.

“If we look at the period from 1991 to 2008, parliament became ineffective due to old leadership. Having new members in parliament can create an opportunity for change. One of the key aspirations of the 2024 mass uprising was leadership change,” he said. “If the newcomers can change their mindset, there will be more substantive debate and dialogue inside parliament, and political parties will not need to take their grievances to the streets.”

Tawfique also expressed hope that first-time MPs would reflect the aspirations of the mass uprising. “People wanted change in old leadership. They wanted new faces; they wanted young leaders,” he said.