BANGLADESH PERSPECTIVE

Dhaka, July 25, 2026. This marks the end of an era. Mohammed Shahabuddin, 76, submitted his resignation letter to Parliament Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad at 5:01 pm on July 24, bringing an end to his three-year tenure at Bangabhaban, the presidential residence. "I am suffering from various health issues. I have nothing else to add for now," he told the Daily Star.

Behind this official version, local media describes a forced departure. According to several sources cited by the Business Standard and the Daily Star, the leadership of the BNP, the party in power since February, had conveyed the message that he must step down after learning that he had a phone conversation with Sheikh Hasina during a medical trip to London in May. Shahabuddin was the last holder of a high constitutional office appointed under the Awami League government, now banned, before the popular uprising that ousted Hasina on August 5, 2024.

The paradox has not escaped the Bangladeshi press: during the July-August 2024 uprising, student protesters had besieged Bangabhaban to demand his resignation, and it was the BNP that had opposed it at the time, deeming his retention necessary for the continuity of the state. Two years later, it is the same party, now in power since the February election, that has orchestrated his quiet exit, just days after a scheduled meeting on July 29 with non-resident ambassadors from four countries.

In accordance with Article 54 of the Constitution, Parliament Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad has immediately assumed the duties of acting president. The Election Commission now has 90 days to organize the election of a new head of state by parliamentarians. This departure comes as Hasina, sentenced to death in absentia for the deadly repression of 2024, has announced her intention to return from exile in India by December to face justice.

Reactions from politicians are divided. Interior Minister Salahuddin Ahmed of the BNP praised Shahabuddin's "very important" role in "maintaining constitutional continuity" during the August 2024 transition, while acknowledging criticism of his previous appointment. In contrast, the Jamaat-e-Islami and other opposition formations have said that the resignation "should have come much earlier," citing the lifting of "a shadow of autocracy."