Last minute preparations at Bangabhaban

The Bangabhaban is busy with the last minute preparations to swear in the new Cabinet headed by Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina.

The Awami League is set to form a government for the third time with Hasina at the helm after bagging 231 seats in the 10th Parliament.

President Md Abdul Hamid is scheduled to administer the oath to the ministers at 3.30pm in Bangabhaban.

The Prime Minister first takes the oath and then other ministers, state ministers and deputy ministers.

Cabinet Division Secretary Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said that the portfolio of the ministers will be distributed by Sunday and the Prime Minister's advisors will also take charge.

The tenure of the 29-member polls-time 'all party' interim Cabinet expires on Sunday.

The Prime Minister's advisors will be relieved before the oath-taking to pave the way for new advisors to come in.

The Cabinet Secretary says all preparations for the oath-taking ceremony are complete.

Around 1,000 guests have been invited at the ceremony. Invitations have been sent out since Saturday.

An official of the Bangabhaban said that seating arrangements for over 800 persons have been made at the 'Darbar Hall'- conference hall of the President's residence cum office.

According to the official, name tags have been hung on chairs in the first few rows. However, he did not see a seat designated for BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia though she has been invited at the ceremony.

Meanwhile, the Parliament Secretariat has already issued a gazette notification stating Jatiya Party Presidium member Raushan Ershad as the Leader of the Opposition.

There is speculations that though the Jatiya Party will sit in Opposition, some of its lawmakers may be in the Cabinet as well.

The President appoints members for the Cabinet on the Prime Minister's advice.

He has approved the list given by the Prime Minister on Saturday.

Those in the list have received telephone calls from the Cabinet Division to be present at the swearing-in ceremony.

According to media reports, the size of the new cabinet may be more or less around 50.

The Cabinet Division, however, was silent when asked for a specific figure at a media briefing on Saturday.

"It will be of the usual size. This time there will be one or two deputy ministers," said Cabinet Division Secretary Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan.

After sweeping the 2008 polls, the Awami League formed a 50-member Cabinet which did not have any deputy ministers.

But the previous Cabinet headed by Hasina in 1996-2001 had a few.

The Awami League returned to power after 21 years of the killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1996.

In 2008, it came to power again with an absolute majority in the 9th Parliamentary Election.

It bagged 231 seats in the 10th Parliamentary Election, which the BNP and its allies boycotted, again with an absolute majority.

A total of 153 constituencies in this time's election returned winners without a contest.

Polls held in the remaining 139 on Jan 5. Eight seats are scheduled for repolls on Jan 16.

Lawmakers of 290 constituencies took oath on Thursday after the Election Commission published the gazette notification the previous day.