Former judge and Awami League leader, Mohammad Shahabuddin Chuppu, is poised to become the next president of Bangladesh, as his party which secured a majority in the parliament has chosen him as their candidate for the upcoming presidential election. The announcement was made by the party’s General Secretary, Obaidul Quader, on Sunday (February 12), as per local media reports.
The 74-year-old may replace incumbent President Mohammad Abdul Hamid, whose tenure ends on April 24, this year. According to Article 123 of the country’s constitution, the presidential election must be held 90 to 60 days before the expiry of the incumbent’s five-year term.
Notably, the Awami League accounts for 305 seats in the 350-member House. “The Election Commission (EC) has received his (Chuppu’s) nomination paper submitted by Bangladesh Awami League,” said a spokesperson of the independent statutory body, reported PTI. Chuppu who is a former commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission, retired district and sessions judge, and freedom fighter, is to run for president, said Quader, as per the Dhaka Tribune.
The party’s general secretary also told reporters that the Awami League Parliamentary Party (ALPP) had asked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to nominate the presidential candidate and she chose Chuppu. After his retirement as district and sessions judge, the 74-year-old served as one of the commissioners of the independent Anti-Corruption Commission and later went on to join politics and become a member of the Awami League Advisory Council in 2020, as per media reports.
Notably, Chuppu would have to give up his post in the party to become the nominal head of the country. “Shahabuddin Chuppu was imprisoned following the brutal assassination of (Bangladesh’s founder) Bangabandhu Sheikh Majibur Rahman in 1975. He was also an election commissioner in the last National Council of the Awami League,” said Quader.
The 74-year-old also took part in the 1971 Liberation War and the 1975 protest after the assassination which was followed by a military coup that led to the toppling of the Awami League government. Last year, he became the chairman of the party’s publicity and publication subcommittee, as per local media reports.
According to Bangladesh’s Election Commission, the last date for nomination of the candidates was Sunday which will be scrutinized on the next day, while the deadline for withdrawal of candidature is Tuesday. The EC’s chief election commissioner and electoral officer of the election are set to conduct the presidential election between January 24 and February 22, as per local media reports.
(With inputs from agencies)
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