Bangladesh Sets Presidential Election For August 20 After Hasina Loyalist's Resignation

Bangladesh will vote to elect a new president on August 20 with the country’s Election Commission announcing the polling timeline on Thursday. The scheduled ballot follows the early exit of former President Mohammed Shahabuddin.

He resigned nearly two years before his five-year mandate ended stepping down on July 24, citing health complications.

The former president was said to be closely aligned with ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with reports suggesting that the administration of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman felt uneasy with him holding the ceremonial post.

Official Election Schedule Details

Voting is scheduled for August 20 when the Jatiya Sangsad session hall will host the polling between 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm. Candidates must deliver nomination documents to the office of the Chief Election Commissioner on August 13. The submission window remains open from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm.

Authorities will begin scrutinising nominations at 10:00 am on August 16 with the deadline to withdraw candidatures set at 4:00 pm on August 18.

Officials finalized the dates after talks with Parliament Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, who holds the temporary 90-day presidential role under the Constitution. State-run news agency BSS reported the details, quoting Senior Secretary Ahmed.

Ahmed said authorities will finish all remaining administrative tasks like voter registry before the election is scheduled.

Shahabuddin's Tenure and Fall

Shahabuddin's five-year tenure started in April 2023 with the previous parliament electing the 1971 Liberation War veteran, who formerly served as a lower judiciary judge to the presidency.

He was the only official to retain his constitutional position following the street demonstrations led by students during July and August 2024. Those violent protests ultimately led to the ouster of Hasina and her Awami League government.

Some local media reports suggested that Shahabuddin contacted Hasina over the phone, disappointing the top leadership of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party. But the former president dismissed those reports as "baseless".

Hasina fled to India on August 5, 2024 and has been living in the country since. She recently addressed the press in India which reportedly caused much outrage in Bnagladesh. The Indian government distanced itself from the event and said that it was being organized by a private entity.