Dhaka, Aug 20 (V7N)- Acting Speaker Barrister Kaiser Kamal will administer the oath of office to Bangladesh’s newly elected president at Bangabhaban on Friday (August 21) evening, following a legal clarification from the Law Ministry.
A constitutional issue had arisen over who would administer the oath after the Cabinet Division sought the Law Ministry’s opinion on the matter.
The Cabinet Division asked the ministry to clarify whether the Deputy Speaker is currently performing the duties of the Speaker and, if so, what constitutional procedure should be followed for administering the president’s oath.
In response, the Law Ministry said there is no constitutional obstacle to the Acting Speaker administering the oath to the newly elected president.
According to the ministry’s opinion, current Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed is performing the duties of the Acting President under Article 54 of the Constitution. As a result, the Deputy Speaker is performing all the functions of the Speaker in accordance with Article 74(3).
The Law Ministry further stated that, since the Deputy Speaker is constitutionally performing all the duties of the Speaker in the current circumstances, the Deputy Speaker is also the appropriate constitutional authority to administer the oath to the newly elected president.
The clarification has cleared the way for Acting Speaker Kaiser Kamal to administer the oath at Bangabhaban on Friday evening.
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