Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin has stepped down from office, citing worsening health conditions that he said have made it impossible for him to continue carrying out his constitutional duties.
The 76-year-old leader confirmed his resignation to AFP on Friday, putting an end to speculation that he would leave office before the scheduled end of his term in 2028.
“Yes, I have resigned,” Shahabuddin told AFP when asked about reports of his planned departure, although he declined to comment further on the decision.
In his resignation letter addressed to the Speaker of Parliament and obtained by AFP, Shahabuddin explained that his declining physical and mental health had left him unable to effectively serve in the country’s highest constitutional 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 stated.
Shahabuddin, widely known by the nickname “Chuppu,” was elected President by Parliament in 2023 with the support of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League.
Although the office of the president is largely ceremonial in Bangladesh, calls for his resignation intensified after Hasina was removed from power during a student-led uprising in 2024.
Earlier this year, Shahabuddin also faced public scrutiny over allegations that he held a telephone conversation with the former prime minister while undergoing medical treatment in London. The president denied the allegations.
Just a day before news of his resignation emerged, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party said the government had not received any official notification that Shahabuddin intended to resign.
He had explained that, in accordance with Bangladesh’s constitution, any resignation by the president must be formally submitted to the Speaker of Parliament.
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