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Special Correspondent:
Political attention has shifted to who could become Bangladesh’s next President after President Mohammed Shahabuddin reportedly decided to resign, although he is expected to formally submit his resignation only after Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad returns from Thailand, according to Bangabhaban officials and sources close to the presidency.
Neither Bangabhaban nor the government has officially confirmed that the President has resigned, but officials said he has already made up his mind to step down and is waiting for the Speaker’s return to complete the constitutional process.
The Speaker travelled to Thailand on July 19 for medical treatment and is scheduled to return on July 26. However, reliable sources said he may cut short his visit and return on Friday because of the evolving political situation.
“The person to whom the resignation must be submitted is not in the country. So there is no opportunity to resign now,” a senior Bangabhaban official said, adding that the President had decided to leave office for health or personal reasons.
Presidential Press Secretary Sarwar Alam, however, urged caution.
“He has not yet signed the resignation letter. We will inform you if he resigns,” he said on Thursday.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed also dismissed speculation that the government was orchestrating a presidential change.
“If the President wants to resign for health reasons or any other reason under the Constitution, that option is available to him. We really don’t know,” he told reporters.
Even before any formal resignation, discussions have intensified over who could occupy the country’s highest constitutional office.
Political observers and BNP insiders have mentioned several senior party leaders as possible candidates, including Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee members Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan and Nazrul Islam Khan.
Party insiders said the BNP is likely to nominate one of its senior and widely respected leaders for the largely ceremonial but constitutionally significant position.
Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani has also emerged in political discussions as a possible contender, although there has been no indication from either the government or the BNP that his name is under formal consideration.
Asked about reports linking him to the presidency, Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said he had no knowledge of any such move.
“I know nothing about this. If the office of the President becomes vacant, it is natural that many names will be discussed,” he said.
Mirza Fakhrul has also been widely mentioned because of his long tenure as BNP Secretary General, clean public image and broad political acceptability. Neither he nor the party has commented publicly on the speculation.
The Constitution lays down a clear procedure if the office of the President becomes vacant through resignation, death or removal.
Under Article 50(3), the President resigns by submitting a signed letter to the Speaker of Parliament.
Article 54 provides that the Speaker immediately assumes the responsibilities of Acting President until a new President is elected.
Article 123(2) requires Parliament to elect a new President within 90 days if the office becomes vacant before the expiry of the incumbent’s term, while Article 48(1) states that the President is elected by Members of Parliament.
Although the Constitution does not explicitly require the Speaker to be physically present in Bangladesh to receive the resignation, Bangabhaban officials said waiting for his return would ensure a smooth constitutional transition, allowing him to immediately assume the responsibilities of Acting President.
Given the BNP’s commanding majority in Parliament, political analysts believe the party’s nominee, ultimately endorsed by Prime Minister and BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, would be virtually assured of election.
Mohammed Shahabuddin assumed office on April 24, 2023, after being elected unopposed for a five-year term due to expire in April 2028.
Following the political upheaval of 2024, he remained in office, oversaw the dissolution of Parliament, administered the oath to the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus and promulgated a series of ordinances during the transitional period.
Several organisations associated with the July uprising later demanded his resignation, arguing that he had been elected under the Awami League government. The BNP opposed his removal, warning that it could trigger a constitutional crisis, and the interim administration ultimately left him in office.
Shahabuddin has repeatedly expressed his desire to leave the presidency.
In an interview with Reuters on December 11, 2025, before the parliamentary election, he said: “I am eager to leave. I want to go from here.”
Following the BNP’s landslide victory in the February 12 election, he administered the oath to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and the new cabinet on February 17.
In another interview published on February 23, he acknowledged the BNP’s support during the interim period, saying: “The BNP stood by me completely during my difficult time.”
His health has also become a subject of public attention. In May, he travelled to the United Kingdom for follow-up treatment after undergoing coronary bypass surgery in Singapore in October 2023.
Doctors at Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge detected a severe blockage in one of his coronary arteries during an angiogram on May 12 and inserted a stent through angioplasty. Bangabhaban later said he had recovered well and returned to Bangladesh after nine days.
Political observers have also noted that, following Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s official visits to Malaysia and China in late June, there was no public disclosure of the customary post-visit meeting between the Prime Minister and the President, adding further momentum to speculation surrounding the future of the presidency.