New Bangladesh cabinet sworn in after controversial parliament polls

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formed her new cabinet taking the oath of office Sunday for the second consecutive term after last week's controversial parliament polls. Sheikh Hasina, eldest daughter of Bangladesh's founding father and first President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was sworn in on Sunday as Prime Minister of the country for the second consecutive term. Forty-eight others, comprising 29 ministers, 17 state ministers and two deputy ministers were also sworn in. President Abdul Hamid administered the oath in a ceremony attended by some 1,000 guests. Hasina was sworn in as prime minister at 3:30 p.m. (local time) Sunday for the third time after dissolution of the polls-time cabinet and council of advisers. The oath taking ceremony was held amid countrywide road, rail, waterways blockade enforced by the 18-party alliance led by ex- prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which boycotted the elections demanding polls under a non-party caretaker government. Mired in controversy, Bangladesh's 10th parliamentary election was held for just 147 of 300 seats in 59 of 64 districts of the country on Jan. 5 as 153 candidates had been elected uncontested. According to results from the Election Commission, the ruling party Awarmi League won 232 seats, of which 127 uncontested, securing absolute majority in the election. The Jatiya Party of former military strongman Hussain Muhammad Ershad, who ruled Bangladesh for nearly nine years from 1982 to 1990, won 31 seats and others took 27 seats. Shortly after the oath taking ceremony, Hasina told journalists that her government won't bow down to any national or international pressure.