Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin, a former ally of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, resigned from his post on Friday, nearly two years before completing his five-year term. He has stated health issues as the major reason for his resignation from public office. However, many believe that it is due to his close ties with former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina.
Responding to a question about the reason for his resignation, he was quoted as saying by The Daily Star newspaper, “I am suffering from various health complications.” Meanwhile, a Bangabhaban – the president’s house – spokesman told PTI that Shahabuddin’s representatives have left his office for the parliament carrying his resignation letter.
The resignation letter would be submitted to parliamentary Speaker Hafizuddin Ahmed, who would serve as Acting President in accordance with the Bangladesh Constitution until a new President is elected. “I can’t make any official comment on the resignation until the Speaker receives the letter,” the spokesman said.
His resignation comes amid speculations that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s government was uncomfortable with the largely titular head of the state, according to media reports.
A 1971 Liberation War veteran and former lower judiciary judge, Shahabuddin had taken the oath in April 2023 for a five-year term. He was elected to the highest office by the previous parliament and is the only person still holding his constitutional position, long after the violent July-August 2024 student-led street protest that toppled Hasina’s Awami League government.
Sheikh Hasina’s return to Bangladesh
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced her intention to return to Bangladesh from exile in India around December, along with senior party colleagues. Despite facing a death sentence and potential arrest in absentia, she stated she is prepared to surrender to the courts and confront her legal challenges.
The return is likely to test the government’s efforts to bring back stability in Bangladesh, a key garment-exporting economy of 173 million people that has been grappling with unrest for the past two years.
Last November, Bangladesh’s war crimes court sentenced Hasina to death in absentia for ordering a crackdown on the uprising, which, according to a UN report, killed nearly 1,400 people. From exile, she denied the charges against her. Before it was banned, the Awami League was Bangladesh’s largest political party, and she retains pockets of support.
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