Bangladesh president steps down early due to ill health

Dhaka (dpa/AP) - The president of Bangladesh, Mohammed Shahabuddin, resigned on Friday nearly two years before the expected end of his tenure, citing ill health.

He had submitted his decision to Parliamentary Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, his press secretary Sarwar Alam said.

Ahmad will now serve as acting president until a new president is elected by parliament within 90 days.

"Due to various ailments, he has become physically and mentally incapable of carrying out the duties of a constitutional position as important as the presidency, and has therefore resigned," Ahmad said.

Shahabuddin, 76, was elected to the highest office of the republic in April 2023, when former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League party held a majority in parliament. The role is mostly ceremonial.

He administered the oath of office to Hasina after she won a controversial election in January 2024, and was one of the only high-level politicians to hold on to his position after a violent mass uprising ousted Hasina's government in August 2024. 

Reports that Hasina will return

His resignation came weeks after it was reported that Hasina would return home in December this year from neighbouring India, where she has been in exile since 2024.

A new government headed by Tarique Rahman, the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and Hasina's arch rival, came to power with a landslide victory in February after 18 months of interim rule under Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus. 

Hasina stepped down and fled to India in August 2024 following an anti-government movement that ended her 15-year rule.

Hasina fiercely criticized the interim administration led by Yunus. 

Shahabuddin submitted his resignation on Friday to Parliament Speaker ⁠Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, citing medical reasons. The resignation letter was seen by The Associated Press. The speaker told a news briefing later on Friday that he accepted the resignation.

Link to Hasina criticized

But local media reported that Shahabuddin had to resign under pressure from the current government as he allegedly talked to Hasina by phone when he visited London for medical treatment in May. The AP could not confirm the incident independently. 

Shahabuddin was known to be a trusted follower of Hasina. Following her ouster, he faced strong opposition from a student group that led the uprising against Hasina. The protesters branded him a collaborator of Hasina and took to the streets demanding his resignation and arrest. 

A new political party formed by the student leaders of the uprising, the National Citizen Party, has long been campaigning against Shahabuddin.

According to Bangladesh's constitution, if the president resigns, the speaker of Parliament automatically takes over the post on an interim basis until a new president is elected by lawmakers. The NCP joined an election alliance led by the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party, the largest Islamist party in the country. 

The president is the head of state and primarily a figurehead but also has a constitutional role during a political crisis. The president also acts as the commander-in-chief of Bangladesh's armed forces.

Shahabuddin was sworn in as the 22nd president of Bangladesh on April 24, 2023. Hasina won a fourth consecutive term in a January 2024 election that was boycotted by major opposition parties including Rahman's Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami.

Hasina loses powerful ally

Shahabuddin's resignation has deprived Hasina of a powerful ally. The ousted prime minister has told mainly Indian media that she wants to return to Bangladesh in December and surrender in court to face charges. 

India refused to hand over Hasina to Bangladesh despite repeated requests by both the Yunus-led government and the current one. 

In November, a special tribunal on Bangladesh sentenced Hasina to death in absentia for ordering a crackdown on the uprising. The United Nations in a report said nearly 1,400 people were killed in the crackdown. Hasina denied the charges against her from exile.