Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin has resigned from office, citing worsening health, according to his resignation letter.
Shahabuddin, a close ally of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, confirmed his decision during a phone conversation with AFP on Friday.
“Yes, I have resigned,” the 76-year-old president said when asked about widespread speculation that he would step down before the expiration of his term in 2028. He did not provide further details.
In his resignation letter addressed to the Speaker of Parliament, Shahabuddin said his declining physical and mental health had made it impossible for him to continue carrying out the responsibilities of the presidency.
“Due to worsening physical and mental incapacity… it is no longer possible for me to properly discharge the responsibilities of an important constitutional office such as the presidency,” the letter stated.
Popularly known as “Chuppu,” Shahabuddin was elected president by Parliament in 2023 with the backing of Hasina’s Awami League.
Following the student-led uprising that forced Hasina from office in 2024, pressure mounted for Shahabuddin to also leave office because of his close ties to the former prime minister.
The president was also accused of speaking with Hasina by telephone while receiving medical treatment in London in May, a claim he has denied.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s Home Minister, Salahuddin Ahmed of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party, said on Thursday that the government had not been informed of the president’s resignation.
“If he wants to resign, he would have to submit his resignation letter to the speaker in accordance with the Constitution,” Ahmed told reporters.
