Bangladesh's President Shahabuddin, 76, resigns citing health concerns

July 24, 2026 6:59 AM EDT

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO - Bangladesh’s President Mohammed Shahabuddin arrives to administer the oath‑taking ceremony of Tarique Rahman as the country’s prime minister at the South Plaza of the parliament building, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, February 17, 2

By Ruma Paul

DHAKA, ‌July 24 (Reuters) - 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, 76, ⁠has held the largely ceremonial post of president since April 2023, ‌a period that included volatile ‌months after Hasina's flight to India following a student-led uprising against her rule in 2024.

"Recent medical examinations have ​diagnosed me with a condition known as Autonomic Neuropathy. Due to this condition, I occasionally experience momentary ⁠loss of consciousness," Shahabuddin said in a statement released by his press secretary.

The ​resignation of Shahabuddin would leave Hasina with no allies in high office five 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 since a deadly student-led uprising toppled her government in 2024.

The speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad, the national parliament, ⁠will perform the duties of the president until a new one ​is elected, the statement said.

As head of state, Shahabuddin is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, but executive power rests with the prime ‌minister and cabinet of the mainly Muslim country of 173 million people.

Reuters reported on ‌Thursday that Shahabuddin, a former ally of ousted premier Sheikh ⁠Hasina, would resign on ‌Friday.

(Reporting by Ruma ​Paul in Dhaka, Writing by Hritam Mukherjee and Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Toby Chopra and Gareth ‌Jones)



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