Bangladeshi President Mohammed Shahabuddin said on Thursday that he plans to step down midway through his term after February’s parliamentary election, saying he has felt humiliated by the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, according to comments he made to Reuters.
As head of state, Shahabuddin serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, though the role is largely ceremonial. Executive power in the mainly Muslim country of 173 million people rests with the prime minister and cabinet.
However, the presidency gained renewed significance after a student-led uprising in August 2024 forced long-time prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to New Delhi. With parliament dissolved, Shahabuddin became the last remaining constitutional authority.
Shahabuddin, 75, was elected unopposed to a five-year term in 2023 as the nominee of Hasina’s Awami League party, which has since been barred from contesting the February 12 election.
Bangladesh President Says Yunus Sidelined Him
“I am keen to leave. I am interested to go out,” Shahabuddin said in a WhatsApp interview from his official residence in Dhaka, describing it as his first media interview since taking office.
“Until elections are held, I should continue,” he said. “I am upholding my position because of the constitutionally held presidency.”
He later added that despite his personal wish to resign, he would allow the next government to decide his future.
“If they tell me they plan to choose their own president, I will step aside,” he said late on Thursday.
Opinion polls indicate that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by former prime minister Khaleda Zia, and the hardline Jamaat-e-Islami are the frontrunners to form the next government. The two parties were part of a coalition that governed Bangladesh between 2001 and 2006.
Shahabuddin said Yunus had not met him for nearly seven months, that the president’s press department had been taken away, and that in September his portraits were removed from Bangladeshi embassies worldwide.
“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,” he said. “A wrong message goes to the people that perhaps the president is going to be eliminated. I felt very much humiliated.”
He said he had written to Yunus regarding the removal of the portraits but received no response.
“My voice has been stifled,” he added.
Yunus’ press advisers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
President in Contact With Army Chief
Shahabuddin said he remains in regular contact with Army Chief General Waker-uz-Zaman, whose troops stood aside during the August 2024 protests against Hasina, a move that ultimately sealed the veteran politician’s downfall. Shahabuddin said Zaman had made it clear he had no intention of seizing power.
Bangladesh has a history of military rule, but Zaman has said he wants democracy to be restored.
Shahabuddin also said that although some student protesters initially called for his resignation, no political party has asked him to step down in recent months.
Asked whether Hasina, who governed Bangladesh for 20 years, had contacted him after fleeing the country, Shahabuddin declined to comment. He said he has remained independent since assuming the presidency and is not affiliated with any political party.
