Bangladesh’s president, Mohammed Shahabuddin, has resigned, citing health issues, local media reports said.

Shahabuddin’s reported resignation comes much ahead of the official end of his tenure in April 2028. The president’s office in Bangladesh is largely ceremonial.

Shahabuddin, 76, was ⁠elected unopposed for a five-year term in 2023 as a nominee of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party.

“As a result of his illnesses, it is no longer possible for him to discharge his duties. He needs treatment and rest,” reports quoted Sarwar Alam, press secretary to the president, as saying.

“It is already public knowledge. What’s the point of hearing it from me? I am sick, so it is done,” Shahabuddin was quoted as saying in a report.

Reports said Shahabuddin received treatment at the Combined Military Hospital over the past two days. Doctors reportedly identified a neurological condition through a CT scan during his treatment.

According to Bangladesh’s constitution, after the president’s resignation, the speaker assumes the role of interim president until a new president is elected.

The resignation assumes significance as Hasina has announced that she would return to Bangladesh in December.

A Bangladeshi court had in November 2025 sentenced Hasina to death for her role in a violent crackdown on protesters that led to her ouster. She later fled to India, where she is now.

Shahabuddin, who remained in office after Hasina was ousted in August 2024, oversaw a transition that first saw a caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus.

Elections held earlier this year propelled Bangladesh National Party’s Tarique Rahman to power. Hasina’s Awami League, which is now banned, was not allowed to participate.

A Reuters report quoting three sources said that the Tarique Rahman government had pressed Shahabuddin to step aside because of his long-standing ties to Hasina.

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