Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin has resigned from office, citing worsening health that he said has left him unable to carry out his constitutional responsibilities.
The 76-year-old president confirmed his resignation to AFP on Friday, ending speculation that he would step down before the expiration of his tenure in 2028.
“Yes, I have resigned,” Shahabuddin told AFP when asked about reports that he planned to leave office. He, however, declined to provide further details.
In his resignation letter addressed to the Speaker of Parliament and seen by AFP, Shahabuddin said his deteriorating physical and mental condition made it impossible for him to continue in office.
“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 read.
Shahabuddin, popularly known as “Chuppu”, was elected president by Parliament in 2023 with the backing of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League.
Although the presidency is largely ceremonial, pressure had mounted on him to resign after Hasina was removed from power during a student-led uprising in 2024.
The president also came under scrutiny earlier this year over allegations that he held a telephone conversation with the former prime minister while receiving medical treatment in London. Shahabuddin denied the claim.
A day before the resignation became public, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party said the government had not received any formal notice of the president’s intention to leave office.
He had stated that any resignation would have to be submitted to the Speaker of Parliament in line with the country’s constitution.
