Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin resigns

Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin has resigned two years ahead the end of his full five-year term.

Shahabuddin, 76, cited health reasons for his decision on Friday. The move comes amid rising demand from opposition parties for him to step down.

“Recent medical examinations have diagnosed me with a condition known as Autonomic Neuropathy. Due to this condition, I occasionally experience momentary loss of consciousness,” Shahabuddin said in a statement released by his press secretary.

The speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad, the national parliament, will perform the duties of the president until a new one is elected, the statement added.

A new president must be elected within the next 90 days, according to the constitution.

“I am seriously ill … therefore, I am unable to perform my duty of the constitutional post,” Shahabuddin said in a letter to Parliament Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed on Friday.

Ahmed said he accepted his resignation, the Associated Press reported.

“According to the Constitution, the president’s resignation becomes effective upon submission of a signed letter to the speaker,” the president’s spokesperson, Sarwar Alam, said.

The resignation comes amid media reports that Shahabuddin spoke on the phone with ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is living in India, during a visit by the former to the UK for medical treatment in May this year, according to Dhaka-based The Daily Star.

Shahabuddin has refuted the media report.

“I am suffering from various health complications,” he told The Daily Star when asked about the reason for his resignation. “I have nothing more to add at this moment.”

He had travelled to London on May 9 and returned on May 18.

Shahabuddin has been the president of the South Asian nation since April 2023. His term was meant to end in 2028.

He oversaw the country during a volatile period after Hasina was ousted in August 2024 by youth protesters and until a caretaker government was formed days later.

Hasina is currently living in exile in India’s capital, New Delhi, but is expected to return to Bangladesh in December, according to the Reuters news agency, which reported news of Shahabuddin’s expected resignation on Thursday.

His resignation leaves Hasina with no allies in high office five months before her planned return.

But as Bangladesh’s president, his role is largely ceremonial. While he is the head of state, the executive power rests with the prime minister and cabinet.