Bangladesh President Resigns After Three Years Due to Illness

Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin resigned on Friday (24/7/2026), citing deteriorating health. National Parliament Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad immediately took over as acting president until a new head of state is elected. Shahabuddin ended his term after leading for exactly three years and three months. He was inaugurated on 24 April 2023 and was supposed to serve a five-year term until April 2028. The 76-year-old politician thus leaves the presidency 21 months before his mandate expires. Hafiz announced Shahabuddin’s resignation at a press conference at the parliament complex in Dhaka on Friday evening. The resignation letter signed by Shahabuddin was received by parliament at 5:01 pm local time. “After receiving the resignation, I have taken over the responsibilities of the president in accordance with Article 54 of the constitution,” Hafiz said, as reported by the official Bangladeshi news agency BSS. Article 54 of the Bangladesh Constitution stipulates that the speaker of parliament shall exercise the functions of the president if the office falls vacant or the president is unable to perform their duties. Hafiz will carry out these duties until parliament elects a new president. In his resignation letter, Shahabuddin stated that he had long suffered from heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and kidney disorders. He had also previously undergone heart bypass surgery. Recent medical examinations indicated that Shahabuddin suffers from autonomic neuropathy, a disorder affecting the nerves that control automatic bodily functions. According to Shahabuddin, this condition causes him to occasionally lose consciousness for short periods. “As a result of the progression of these diseases and the resulting physical and mental incapacity, I am no longer able to carry out the responsibilities of this important constitutional office,” Shahabuddin wrote in his resignation letter. He stated that he requires long-term medical care. Reuters reported that Shahabuddin had been receiving treatment at the Combined Military Hospital for two days prior to his resignation. However, his departure from the presidential palace also occurred amid political pressure due to his closeness to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.