Will President Mohammad Shahabuddin resign in Bangladesh? Speculation intensifies due to Sheikh Hasina’s return

Dhaka. Political turmoil has once again intensified in Bangladesh. According to media reports and political sources, President Mohammad Shahabuddin may resign from his post soon. There are still about two years left in his tenure, but in the last few days, discussions about his resignation have gained momentum. If this happens, it will happen at a time when the country is already going through a sensitive political phase due to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, the formation of a new government and the announcement of her possible return.

President Mohammad Shahabuddin was elected for a five-year term in April 2023. After the student movement in July-August 2024, the Awami League government of the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power. Sheikh Hasina came to India on 5 August 2024 and has been living here since then. Even after that political change, Shahabuddin is the only top official to continue in his constitutional post. Now a senior leader of ruling Prime Minister Tariq Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party has hinted that the President may resign soon, although he did not make public the reason behind it.

In the last two days, the news of the President’s resignation has gained momentum in the Bangladeshi media. According to reports, the government is no longer comfortable with President Shahabuddin. The newspaper Prothom Alo, quoting a senior government source, claimed that the government was upset that the President had recently tried to re-establish contact with Sheikh Hasina. Meanwhile, while talking to The Daily Star, a senior BNP leader said that the alleged phone conversation between the President and Sheikh Hasina is not the only reason for the resignation. He said the matter is more complex than this as the country’s political environment has become more sensitive after Sheikh Hasina announced her return to Bangladesh in December.

Earlier this month, Sheikh Hasina had said that she would return to Bangladesh in December. The Bangladesh government welcomed his return plan, but made it clear that he would have to face the law. On 17 November 2025, the International Criminal Tribunal for Bangladesh sentenced Sheikh Hasina and her former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death in a hearing in absentia for their alleged role in crimes against humanity during the July Movement. During the current interim arrangement, the ICT-BD law was amended, opening the way for Awami League government leaders and officials to be prosecuted on charges of crimes against humanity.