Sahabuddin to leave Bangabhaban; Hafiz Uddin to work there, stay at Speaker’s residence

Former president Mohammed Shahabuddin is expected to vacate Bangabhaban today, Sunday or tomorrow, Monday. Acting President and Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad will then begin attending office from the presidential residence.

Shahabuddin is likely to move to his residence in Gulshan. Although the acting president will maintain his office at Bangabhaban, he will continue to live at the Speaker's official residence.

According to Bangabhaban and government sources, a departing president is entitled by law to remain at Bangabhaban for one month if he wishes. However, Mohammed Shahabuddin has already begun preparations to leave. If the preparations are completed today, Sunday, he may vacate the residence the same day.

Otherwise, he is expected to leave on Monday. On Saturday evening, Shahabuddin hosted a private dinner at Bangabhaban, attended by its officials. Although a few other formalities were expected to take place, it remains uncertain whether those will be held.

On Friday afternoon, Mohammed Shahabuddin sent his signed resignation letter to Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad. After receiving the letter, the Speaker announced the resignation at a press conference held in the oath-taking room of the parliament complex.

He also declared that, in accordance with the Constitution, he had assumed the responsibilities of the president. Shahabuddin stepped down nearly one year and nine months before the end of his term, citing ill health as the reason for his resignation.

Mohammed Shahabuddin was sworn in as Bangladesh's 22nd president on 24 April 2023 after being elected unopposed with the nomination of the Awami League. The presidential term is five years, meaning his tenure was due to end in April 2028. However, he is leaving Bangabhaban about 21 months before the completion of his term.

Following Mohammed Shahabuddin's resignation as president, cleaning and maintenance work is underway at his private residence in Gulshan, Dhaka. The sitting area on the ground floor is being repainted, while furniture is being cleaned.

According to people involved in managing the property, the work is being carried out in anticipation of his return within the next few days. Before becoming president, Mohammed Shahabuddin lived in a fourth-floor flat on the building.

A visit to the house on Road 123 in Gulshan on Saturday morning showed preparations in progress. Several journalists were waiting outside the residence, although no members of the law enforcement agencies were seen there.

The building's manager, Kabir Hossain, told Prothom Alo, “We do not know exactly when sir will return. But we have been instructed to make sure everything is clean and tidy. We are working accordingly. Sir may return home within the next few days.”

A visit to the property showed a sitting room next to the car parking area on the ground floor. Several sofas and a table were placed there, with the furniture covered in polythene sheets. Several tins of paint were stacked on one side of the room. The old paint on the walls had been scraped off in preparation for repainting.

Kabir Hossain said the room would be painted first, after which the sofas would be cleaned. “People will come and sit here, so the area is being prepared,” he said.

There can be no vacancy in the office of the president. Under the Constitution, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad assumed the responsibilities of acting president immediately after Mohammed Shahabuddin's resignation.

Until a new president is elected and sworn in within 90 days all official duties and ceremonial functions of the presidency will be carried out by Hafiz Uddin Ahmad.

Sources at the Parliament Secretariat said Hafiz Uddin Ahmad will begin working from Bangabhaban as soon as Mohammed Shahabuddin vacates the presidential residence. Both the Office of the President and the official presidential residence are located within the Bangabhaban complex.

Although Hafiz Uddin Ahmad will perform his official duties from Bangabhaban, he will continue to live at the Speaker's official residence in the parliament complex.

Foreign ambassadors accredited to Bangladesh present their credentials to the president at Bangabhaban, while visiting foreign dignitaries also hold meetings there. Various state ceremonies are held at Bangabhaban on national days.

As a result, the official activities of the president—or, in the absence of a president, the acting president—are conducted from Bangabhaban.

After assuming the responsibilities of acting president, Hafiz Uddin Ahmad is scheduled to pay tribute at the National Martyrs' Memorial in Savar at 11:00 am today, Sunday. He will then pay his respects at the graves of former president and BNP founder Ziaur Rahman and late BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia at 12:30 pm.