A competent personage nominated by the President or the Chief Election Commissioner may administer oath to the upcoming Members of Parliament under an alternative arrangement.
The interim government is preparing such alternative arrangements for the swearing-in ceremony for the MPs to be elected through the upcoming national elections, as neither the former Speaker nor the Deputy Speaker is in a position to perform the constitutional duty.
Law Adviser of the post-uprising government Prof Asif Nazrul said Thursday that there was no scope for the former Speaker or the Deputy Speaker to administer the oath to MPs elected to the next Jatiya Sangsad.
Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat, he said the constitution provides two alternative options in such circumstances.
Under one option, the oath could be administered by a person nominated by the president on advice of the chief adviser. "That nominee could be the chief justice," Nazrul said, offering an example.
The second option would allow the chief election commissioner to administer the oath, but only three days after the election.
"We do not want to wait," the law adviser said. "We want the oath-taking to take place as soon as possible after the election."
According to the constitution, newly elected MPs are normally sworn in by the Speaker, or in the Speaker's absence, by the Deputy Speaker.
Nazrul said neither option was currently viable, as one of them is missing and the other is in jail, both facing serious criminal cases. He added that the Speaker had formally resigned, further complicating the situation.
"In this context, I do not think there is any scope for them to administer the oath," the law professor told the reporters.
He explains that existing legal provisions allow the president, acting on advice of the chief adviser, to nominate someone to administer the oath if the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are unable to do so.
If the oath is not administered within three days, the chief election commissioner is also empowered to stand in for the role. The law adviser said he would discuss the matter with the senior secretary of the parliamentary secretariat and review the relevant legal provisions before submitting his final opinion to the chief adviser.
mirmostafiz@yahoo.com
