Protesters in Bangladesh have seiged the presidential palace, Banga Bhaban, demanding the resignation of President Mohammed Shahabuddin. The Anti-discrimination Student Movement, which led the campaign to remove Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, held a rally at the central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka earlier on Tuesday, where they announced their 5-point demands, including the President’s resignation.
As the protesters marched towards Banga Bhaban at night, they were met with barricades set up by the army. The protesters gathered outside the palace, chanting slogans calling for the President’s resignation. “The President is a crony of Hasina’s authoritarian government. He must resign immediately”, a protester said.
Mohammed Shahabuddin, also known as Chuppu, is the 16th President of Bangladesh. He was elected unopposed in the 2023 presidential election, nominated by the Awami League. The Anti-discrimination Student Movement has called for the abolition of the 1972 constitution and the drafting of a new one that reflects the context of 2024.
The students have also demanded the banning of the Awami League’s student organisation, Bangladesh Chatra League, and the resignation of President Mohammed Shahabuddin. They have called for the elections held in 2014, 2018, and 2024 under Sheikh Hasina to be declared illegal and for the disqualification of the Members of Parliament who won these elections.
Additionally, they have called for the announcement of a Proclamation of the Republic in line with the spirit of the July-August uprising.
The protests, which began in July with students demanding an end to the quota system for government jobs, evolved into anti-government demonstrations. As the protests intensified, Sheikh Hasina, 76, resigned as Bangladesh’s Prime Minister on August 5 and fled to India. An interim government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus was established, and on August 8, Yunus was sworn in as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government.