Alleging that the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has insulted him, Bangladesh President Mohammad Sahabuddin expressed his desire to resign. On Thursday evening, the Bangladesh Election Commission announced the date for the next general election. Immediately after that, the President told news agency Reuters that he wants to resign once the elections are concluded.
Why does President Sahabuddin want to resign?
President Sahabuddin is 75 years old. In 2023, he was elected President as an Awami League-nominated candidate. In 2024, following the fall of her government, erstwhile Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left the country on August 5. Since then, Sahabuddin has been Bangladesh's sole constitutional authority as President. His term will end in 2028. But he has expressed his desire to resign before that.
Speaking via WhatsApp telephone from his official residence in Dhaka today, Sahabuddin said, "I want to resign. However, I have to continue working until the election is over. I am performing my duties only because the constitution tells me to stay."
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Sahabuddin's charge against Muhammad Yunus
The President puts the blame for this on the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus. He claims that in the past seven months, Chief Adviser Yunus didn't meet him for a single time. The Press Department has also been taken away from him. He even states that his portraits were removed from all embassies worldwide last September.
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Alleging that the Yunus government wants to send the wrong message, the President said, "There were portraits of the President in all consulates, embassies and high commissions. But they were removed overnight. This is sending the wrong message, making it seem as if the President might be removed this time. I feel deeply humiliated." He had also written a letter to Yunus about this. But he alleges that no action was taken. President Sahabuddin has also alleged that Yunus's press advisers did not respond to his letter.
