Bangladesh's President Shahabuddin, 76, resigns citing health concerns

Jatiya Sangsad will perform duties of president ​until ⁠new one is elected

Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin, a former ally of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has ​resigned citing serious health issues, his office said ‌on Friday.

Shahabuddin, 76, has held the largely ceremonial post of president since April 2023, a period that included volatile months after Hasina's ​flight to India following a student-led uprising against ​her rule in 2024.

"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 resignation of Shahabuddin would leave Hasina with no allies in high ​office five months before her planned return. Her Awami League ​party is banned, and many of its leaders and activists have ‌been ⁠jailed or gone into hiding since a deadly student-led uprising toppled her government in 2024.

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

Read: Why did Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina resign?

As head of state, Shahabuddin is commander-in-chief of ​the armed forces, but executive power rests ​with ⁠the prime minister and cabinet of the mainly Muslim country of 173 million people.

Reuters reported on Thursday that Shahabuddin, a ⁠former ​ally of ousted premier Sheikh Hasina, would ​resign on Friday.

Pressure from Dhaka

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 has denied the charges against her.

News of Hasina's planned return from India has intensified public pressure on Rahman's government to remove the last of her allies from high office.

Shahabuddin's role is ​largely ceremonial, with executive power resting ​with the prime minister and ⁠cabinet.

The role took on greater weight after the uprising forced Hasina to flee to New Delhi in August 2024, leaving a political vacuum with no other elected official in power.

Read more: Timeline of events leading to Bangladesh PM Hasina Wajid's resignation

Shahabuddin had been elected ​unopposed for a five-year term in 2023 as a nominee of Hasina’s Awami League party, which ​is now banned.

He informed ⁠Prime Minister Rahman of his decision to resign, according to one of the sources. All three sources declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.

Shahabuddin did not respond to repeated calls and messages for comment. He told Reuters in December he was planning to resign after ⁠the February ​election, after being sidelined by the previous interim government that had replaced Hasina's administration.

​Hasina told Reuters she and senior party colleagues planned to return from exile around December and surrender. Before it was banned, the Awami League was Bangladesh's largest political party, ​and she retains pockets of support.