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 has held the largely ceremonial post of President since April 2023, a period that included volatile months after Hasina’s ouster, following a student-led uprising against her rule in 2024. Shahabuddin was elected by the Parliament in 2023 with support from Hasina’s Awami League.
The head of state is also the Commander-in-Chief of the country’s armed forces, but executive power rests with the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of the mainly Muslim country of 173 million people.
Shahabuddin’s resignation would leave Hasina with no allies in high office, 5 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.
