Retired Judge Mohammed Shahabuddin Chuppu is set to become Bangladesh’s 22nd President after the ruling Awami League nominated him as their presidential candidate on Sunday. The announcement of Shahabuddin as the next President is a formality as the deadline for filing of nomination ended at 4 PM on Sunday and the MPs are set to cast their votes to elect the ceremonial head of the country. Shahabuddin, a close aide of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, will replace Abdul Hamid, who has held the office of President for the longest period in Bangladesh’s history.
The main opposition party in the country, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, expressed their disinterest in the presidential polls. The party’s General Secretary, Obaidul Qader, along with senior leaders, went to the Election Commission to submit Shahabuddin’s nomination. The capital city of Dhaka was rife with speculation in recent months over the Awami League’s nominee for the presidential polls.
Shahabuddin, born in Pabna in 1949, has a distinguished career in the judicial service, beginning in 1983 and continuing till 2006 when he became a district judge. He has held several important positions, including Chairman of the Labour Court, Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission, and an independent director on the board of Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd. A former diplomat based in Dhaka has praised the Prime Minister’s choice, stating that “people from judicial backgrounds have more credibility” in the country.
