Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin, a longtime ally of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, resigned on Friday, citing health complications, two years ahead of the end of his tenure.
Parliament Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed will serve as for 90 days in accordance with the, and a new President must be elected within that timeframe.
In his resignation letter addressed to Speaker Ahmed, 76-year-old Shahabuddin said he is “seriously ill” and suffering from heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney complications.
“Recently, medical tests detected a disease called Autonomic Neuropathy. Due to this illness, I sometimes lose consciousness briefly. Because of the prevalence of these diseases, I am physically and mentally incapable of discharging the responsibilities of such an important constitutional post of President,” he wrote in his resignation letter.
Speaker Ahmed, who cut short his visit to Bangkok where he was undergoing medical treatment and returned to Dhaka on Friday, said he accepted the president’s resignation.
“After accepting the resignation, I have assumed the responsibilities of the President in accordance with Article 54 of the Constitution,” Ahmed, 80, said at a press conference held at his parliament office.
A 1971 Liberation War veteran
A 1971 , Ahmed said that under the Constitution, when a Speaker takes the oath, it also includes the oath required to discharge the responsibilities of the Acting President whenever necessary.
Shahabuddin’s resignation comes amid speculations that P 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 was 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.
Hasina fled to India and has been living there since August 5, 2024.
Shahabuddin’s departure comes days after the deposed premier announced she was preparing to return home by December despite a pending death sentence, causing a political uproar in Bangladesh.
Some reports claimed that Shahabuddin recently contacted Hasina over the phone, disappointing the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s top leadership.
In an interview with The Daily Star on Thursday evening, Shahabuddin dismissed the reports as “baseless.”
He was the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, though the role was largely ceremonial with executive power resting with the prime minister.
But Shahabuddin’s position gained prominence when the 2024 violence toppled Hasina’s government and the interim regime mounted pressure on him to quit.
Two months ahead of the February 12 elections that ended Muhammad Yunus’ 18-month rule, Shahabuddin told the media he was “humiliated” by the interim government, which also removed his portraits from Bangladeshi embassies abroad.
At that time, he said he received “100 per cent support” from the BNP while the army, along with navy and air force chiefs, firmly stood by him.
In a December 2025 interview, he expressed his desire to resign after fulfilling his constitutional duty to hold the February elections.
Ahmed lauded Shahabuddin’s contribution, saying, “Even though he was elected during the tenure of a ‘mafia government’, I believe he has always expressed support and respect for the government currently elected by the people’s vote”.
(With PTI inputs)
