Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin has said he intends to step down midway through his term after the February 12 parliamentary election, telling Reuters he has felt “humiliated” by the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.
Shahabuddin, 75, a former Awami League nominee elected unopposed in 2023, said he will remain in office only until elections are held. “I am keen to leave. I am interested to go out,” he told Reuters via WhatsApp from Bangabhaban. “Until elections are held, I should continue. I am upholding my position because of the constitutionally held presidency.”
He said Yunus had not met him for nearly seven months, his press department was removed, and in September, his portraits were taken down from embassies worldwide. “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… My voice has been stifled.” Yunus’s office did not respond to Reuters.
Shahabuddin’s role became prominent after the student-led uprising in August 2024 forced Sheikh Hasina to flee to New Delhi, leaving him the last constitutional figure after parliament was dissolved.
The president also said he is in regular contact with Army Chief General Waker-uz-Zaman, praising him for resisting any move to seize power. “He made it clear he had no intention of grabbing power,” Shahabuddin said. Bangladesh has a history of military rule, but the army chief has said he wants democracy restored.
While some student protesters had initially called for Shahabuddin’s resignation, he said no political party has recently asked him to leave. Opinion polls suggest the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami are frontrunners to form the next government.
Asked whether Sheikh Hasina had tried to contact him after fleeing, Shahabuddin declined to answer. He insisted he has remained independent since assuming office.