The president of Bangladesh, Mohammed Shahabuddin, on Friday resigned from his office on health grounds, while Jatiya Sangsad speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad assumed the responsibilities as acting president.

Hafiz Uddin received the president’s resignation letter at 5:01pm on Friday.

Immediately after receiving the resignation letter from the president, speaker Hafiz at a press conference at the Jatiya Sangsad complex said that the resignation of the president was accepted and he assumed the responsibilities as acting president.

‘In accordance with article 54 of the constitution, I have assumed the responsibilities of the president. I have accepted the resignation letter and instructed the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat to preserve it in its official records and take the necessary administrative steps,’ the speaker said.

Article 54 of the constitution stipulates, ‘If a vacancy occurs in the office of president or if the president is unable to discharge the functions of his office on account of absence, illness or any other cause, the speaker shall discharge those functions until a president is elected.’

In the letter, the president wrote, ‘I am seriously ill. I am suffering from heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and kidney complications. I have undergone coronary artery bypass surgery. Recently, I was diagnosed with autonomic neuropathy.’

‘Because of this condition, I occasionally lose consciousness for brief periods. Owing to these illnesses and the resulting physical and mental incapacity, I am no longer able to discharge the responsibilities of the important constitutional office of the president. I require long-term medical treatment,’ Shahabuddin said in his resignation letter.

He further wrote, ‘In these circumstances, I am resigning from the office of president in accordance with article 50(3) of the constitution.’

Hafiz Uddin said that, under the constitution, he had taken oath as acting president on the same day he was sworn in as speaker, enabling him to assume the responsibilities of the office whenever necessary.

He said that the deputy speaker had likewise taken an oath providing that, if the office of the speaker became vacant for any reason, the deputy speaker would discharge the responsibilities of the speaker.

Following the resignation of the president, while speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad will serve as acting president, deputy speaker Kayser Kamal will thus serve as acting speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad.

Shahabuddin cited in his resignation letter that he was elected as the 22nd president of Bangladesh and took office on April 24, 2023.

‘I have discharged my responsibilities with dedication, honesty, and complete allegiance to the constitution since assuming office,’ he wrote.

Referring to the political developments of August 2024, he wrote, ‘It may be recalled that the fall of the then government on August 5, 2024, in the face of the student-led mass uprising created a constitutional and governance crisis in the country.’

He further wrote, ‘With a view to overcoming the constitutional crisis, I, as the president, sought the opinion of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court under article 106 of the constitution. Subsequently, on the advice of the Appellate Division, I formed the interim government.’

‘The interim government, in consultation with the political parties, arranged the general election to the Jatiya Sangsad,’ he went on to write.

Shahabuddin further wrote that the current government was formed on the basis of the election results and was now running the administration.

‘At present, the ruling party and the opposition (in parliament) are performing their respective responsibilities in the Jatiya Sangsad as per democratic practice,’ he wrote.

He also claimed that, ‘Because of my firm and positive role, the country did not experience any constitutional disruption.’

At the press conference, speaker Hafiz Uddin, referring to Shahabuddin’s tenure as president, said, ‘Although he was elected during the tenure of the mafia government, he has always expressed his support for and respect towards the new government elected by the people. I wish him well.’

According to article 123 of the constitution if the office of president falls vacant due to resignation, death or removal, the jatiya Sangsad must elect a new president within 90 days.

Meanwhile, speculation had intensified in political circles and on social media over the past few days that the president might step down on health grounds.

Amid the speculation, speaker Hafiz Uddin cut short his medical trip to Bangkok and returned to the country on Friday.

He travelled to Thailand on July 19 and had originally been scheduled to return on July 26.

Shahabuddin was sworn in as Bangladesh’s 22nd president on April 24, 2023 after being elected unopposed as the Awami League nominee. His five-year term was due to expire in April 2028.

He was a former commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Before assuming the presidency, he also served as a vice-chairman of Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC and later as an adviser to NRB Global Bank. Both banks were then controlled by the S Alam Group, which later faced allegations of large-scale financial irregularities.

Following his nomination by the AL government, political circles and social media linked him to the business conglomerate.

His presidency took a sudden turn just 16 months into his term when the AL government was toppled in the student-led mass uprising on August 5, 2024.

Then prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India, but Shahabuddin remained in office.

He subsequently ordered the dissolution of the Jatiya Sangsad, administered the oath of office to the interim government, led by Professor Muhammad Yunus, and formally approved a series of ordinances issued by the interim administration.

Several student-led organisations later demanded his removal and staged demonstrations, including a siege of the Bangabhaban.

However, the interim government did not initiate any move to remove him.

Regarding the political transition, Shahabuddin described his tenure as difficult. In an interview with Reuters on December 11, 2025, before the JS elections, he said that he wished to leave office after the polls, stating, ‘I am eager to step down. I want to leave.’

He later said that he had felt humiliated during the interim government’s tenure, alleging that he had been sidelined, adding that his photographs had been removed from Bangladesh missions abroad and the Bangabhaban press wing had been downsized.

Following the February 12 general election, the BNP-led government took office after being sworn in by Shahabuddin.

In an interview with a local daily on February 20, Shahabuddin claimed that several conspiracies had been hatched during the interim government’s tenure to destroy the constitutional order and create a constitutional vacuum.

He also claimed that the BNP leadership had extended him ‘100 per cent support’ during that period, stressing the need to preserve constitutional continuity.

Shahabuddin travelled to London in May for medical examinations and follow-up treatment after undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery in Singapore in October 2023.

He was accompanied by family members, physicians, nursing staff, and officials of the Bangabhaban.