Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin has said that he will resign from his position after the general elections in February next year. The 75-year-old became the country's 16th president in 2023 after he was elected unopposed as Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League candidate.
In an interview with an international media outlet, Shahabuddin even criticised the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government and said he feels 'humiliated'. The Bangladeshi president said he has not even met Yunus in the past seven months.
"I am keen to leave. I am interested to go out..." he told Reuters. "Until elections are held, I should continue," he said, adding that he is upholding his position "because of the constitutionally held presidency".
Shahabuddin, who has even served as a district and sessions judge, even claimed that his portraits were removed Bangladeshi embassies around the world, which he says will send a wrong message to the countrymen that he may be 'eliminated'. He said he even wrote to Yunus about it, but the chief adviser has not taken any action.
"There was the portrait of the president, picture of the president in all consulates, embassies and high commissions, and this has been eliminated suddenly in one night," Shahabuddin told Reuters. "I felt very much humiliated."
Bangladesh general elections
Coming to the next general elections in Bangladesh, they will be held in February 2026. According to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin, the voting will take place on February 12, 2026, from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm. The development comes after Uddin met Shahabuddin and assured the president that the elections will be held a "free, fair and meaningful" manner.
This will be the first election in the country after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's ouster from power. The 78-year-old had fled to India in August 2024 following a massive protest against her government. Since then, Yunus is heading the interim government in the country.
Hasina, who has been living in India after fleeing from Bangladesh, has been convicted and sentenced to death. Bangladesh has requested India to extradite Hasina. "We call upon the government of India to immediately deport and hand over these two individuals to the Bangladeshi authorities," it said in a statement last month.
