Dhaka, Feb. 17 -- For the first time in 35 years, the newly elected members of parliament have taken their oath from the chief election commissioner.

With the speaker absent, the deputy speaker in detention, and no presidential nominee appointed, CEC AMM Nasir Uddin administered the oaths on Tuesday at the South Plaza of parliament in strict accordance with the Constitution.

In a rare constitutional procedure, Nasir read two separate oaths for MPs simultaneously.

On Tuesday, 296 parliamentarians took their oath in multiple phases.

The first 208, representing the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), were sworn in, followed by allies and independents in staggered sessions, bringing the total to 219.

They took only the parliamentary oath...