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Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said on Thursday that the government has no information about President Mohammed Shahabuddin resigning, and reports circulating on the issue remain mere rumours.
Speaking to reporters at the secretariat, Salahuddin said the constitution allows the president to resign for health or other personal reasons, but the government has neither received any such indication nor taken any related action.
“Rumours remain rumours. If it becomes a reality, we will deal with it then,” the minister said in response to a question about speculation surrounding the president’s possible resignation.
The minister said that if the president wishes to leave office for health-related or other reasons, he is constitutionally entitled to do so. “But I have no information that he intends to resign,” he added.
He stressed that the government has made no move regarding the matter and has issued no statement on the issue.
Asked whether President Shahabuddin had spoken with former prime minister Sheikh Hasina while she was abroad for medical treatment, Salahuddin said he had no knowledge of any such conversation.
Explaining the constitutional procedure, he said the president would have to submit a resignation letter to the Speaker of Parliament, after which the matter would proceed in accordance with the Constitution.
President Shahabuddin, who took office as Bangladesh’s 22nd president on April 24, 2023, is constitutionally due to serve a five-year term until April 2028.
Under Article 54 of the Constitution, if the office of the president becomes vacant or the president is unable to perform his duties due to absence, illness or any other reason, the Speaker of Parliament assumes the responsibilities of acting president until a new president is elected.
Article 123 stipulates that a new president must be elected within 90 days if the office falls vacant due to resignation, death or removal.
The president is elected by members of parliament.