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President-elect Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir will pay tribute to the graves of former president Ziaur Rahman and former prime minister Khaleda Zia before taking his formal oath at Bangabhaban on Friday.
After Juma prayers, Fakhrul is scheduled to visit the graves, place floral wreaths and offer prayers for the departed leaders. He will then head directly to Bangabhaban to take oath as Bangladesh’s 23rd president.
The oath-taking ceremony will begin at 7:00pm at the Durbar Hall of Bangabhaban. Prime Minister and BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman will attend the ceremony.
Preparations for the event have been completed under the supervision of the Cabinet Division. Guests have been asked to take their seats by 6:30pm. Tarique Rahman is scheduled to enter the Durbar Hall at 6:45pm, followed by Fakhrul at 6:50pm.
Around 1,000 guests have been invited, including the prime minister, speaker, cabinet members, lawmakers, Supreme Court judges, chiefs of the three services, senior civil and military officials, university vice-chancellors, political leaders, civil society representatives, media editors and senior journalists.
Foreign ambassadors, high commissioners and diplomats based in Dhaka have also been invited to attend the historic ceremony.
Fakhrul was elected president by lawmakers on Thursday, winning 255 of the 343 votes cast. His rival, Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed, the candidate of an 11-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami, secured 88 votes.
The presidential election was held in Parliament on Thursday, 35 years after the country last elected a president through direct voting by lawmakers.
