Mohammed Shahabuddin has resigned as president of Bangladesh before completing his constitutional term, marking a new chapter at the country’s highest constitutional office amid post-uprising political change. Shahabuddin was sworn in as Bangladesh’s 22nd president on April 24, 2023, after being elected unopposed on the Awami League’s nomination. His term was constitutionally due to continue until April 2028.

The resignation creates an opportunity for the BNP to nominate a preferred candidate for the presidency under the current political reality, the report said. During his tenure, Shahabuddin set a rare constitutional record by administering the oath of office to three different heads of government within a single presidential term.

After the fall of the Awami League government in a student-public uprising on August 5, 2024, political parties and social organisations increasingly demanded his resignation. Groups linked to the July movement held programmes including a siege of Bangabhaban. He nevertheless remained in office through parliament’s dissolution, the formation of an interim government and the political transition, while the interim government led by Dr Muhammad Yunus did not move to remove him.