President’s oath taking ceremony deferred to April 24

Secretariat Correspondent: The oath taking ceremony for President Md Abdul Hamid has been deferred for nine days.

He was supposed to take oath on April 15 for the second consecutive term as the country’s 21st president.

According to new schedule, the president will take oath on April 24.

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury will conduct the oath-taking ceremony.

President's Press Secretary Joynal Abedin confirmed the news.

It was understood that the oath taking ceremony was deferred as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to leave Dhaka on an eight-day official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Kingdom (UK) on Sunday.

The programme will be held after PM returned home. She will also attend the oath taking ceremony.

Since independence, 16 people have served Bangladesh as president for 19 terms, prior to Hamid.

Hamid is the 17th person to serve as president and the first to be in the position for the second consecutive term. The country’s constitution allows a president to serve the country for the second consecutive term.

On February 7, Hamid was re-elected uncontested as the president of the country. His present five-year tenure will expire on Apr 23 as he took office on Apr 24 in 2013.

Hamid became the acting president from that day after the death of Zillur Rahman on Mar 20, 2013.
Later, he was elected uncontested as the 20th president of Bangladesh on Apr 22 in 2013.

risingbd/Dhaka/April 14, 2018/Hassan/A K Azad