Bangladesh president resigns

Mohammed Shahabuddin oversaw the country’s transition after the ouster of then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024 Bangladesh’s president, Mohammed Shahabuddin, has resigned, citing health issues. The speaker of the National Parliament will now become the country’s interim president until a new person is elected.Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad confirmed Shahabuddin’s resignation at a press briefing on Friday evening. In his resignation letter submitted to the speaker, Shahabuddin said that he was suffering from several health conditions.He said he was diagnosed with autonomic neuropathy and that he occasionally loses consciousness for brief periods as a result of this illness.Reports said Shahabuddin received treatment at the Combined Military Hospital over the past two days.Shahabuddin’s 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.The resignation assumes significance as Hasina has announced that she would return to Bangladesh in December. In Novemb...