In Bangladesh, amid calls for the removal of President Mohammed Shahabuddin for his alleged remark over resignation of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Salahuddin Ahmed on Wednesday said the party does not want to see the post of president vacant in the current situation. “Vacancy in the president’s post would create a state and constitutional crisis at this moment, which the nation does not expect”, he said while talking with media in Dhaka.
“The presidency is the highest constitutional position and it is also an institution. If this position becomes vacant due to resignation or removal, it will create a constitutional and national crisis”, he further said.
Earlier on Wednesday, a student movement coordinator and an adviser to the Interim Government of Bangladesh Nahid Islam said that a decision regarding President Mohammed Shahabuddin can be reached through political discussion and national unity, rather than following legal or constitutional means.
On Tuesday evening, there was a student-led demonstration in front of the Bangbhavan, an Official residence of Bangladesh’s President, demanding his resignation, in which few people got injured when law enforcers tried to prevent people rushing towards the barricades. Following the incident, security around the Bangbhavan has been beefed up and apart from police, army personnel have been deployed in armed positions around the area.
The President Mohammed Shahabuddin was elected unopposed on 13 February 2023. He took office for a five-year term on 24 April 2023.
