In the first two decades after Bangladesh’s independence, the story of the office of the president was different. Here we take a walk through the halls of time at a time when the fate of President Shahabuddin hangs in the balance
Illustration: Duniya Jahan/ TBS Creative
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Illustration: Duniya Jahan/ TBS Creative
President Shahabuddin, as head of State, constitutionally takes precedence over all other persons in Bangladesh, but his fate now hangs in the balance after the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina regime amid the student-people upheaval.
The interim government also said today (24 October) that whether the president remains in his position is a matter that will be discussed with political parties.
If Shahabuddin, who was elected to the office in April last year as a surprise pick by Hasina, fails to survive the brewing storm he will be only second president to be ousted from Bangabhaban since restoration of parliamentary democracy in 1991 after ouster of the autocratic Ershad regime in an uprising.
Two decades ago, in June 2002, AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury became the first president to be removed from the presidency by the party that nominated him to be elected to the office.
He was forced to resign as the then ruling BNP parliamentary party expressed no confidence in him.
It is worthy to note that Bangladesh’s first president to complete a five-year term at the Bangabhaban came only after restoration of parliamentary democracy.
The honour goes to Abdur Rahman Biswas, whose five year tenure was between 1991-1996.
His successor Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed was also able to complete his term without facing any storm.
Justice Shahabuddin also set a unique record.
Before he was elected to the presidency in 1996 on nomination of the ruling Awami League, he was appointed as vice-president on 6 December 1990 before Ershad stepped down as the president in face of an uprising.
He, as acting president, led the interim government and continued until his successor Rahman Biswas replaced him in October 1991.
But luck did not favour Justice Shahabuddin’s successor Badruddoza Chowdhury, who lasted 219 days.
After his resignation, then Speaker Jamir Uddin Sircar acted as the president.
The ruling BNP nominated Professor Iajuddin Ahmed to the presidency who would make a new record: staying at the Bangabhaban beyond his five-year term due to a political crisis.
Iajuddin, who entered the office in September 2002, was supposed to leave Bangabhaban in September 2007 after completing a five-year term.
But he was able to stay at Bangabhaban until February 2009 because of a two year delay in holding the election to constitute a new parliament.
Amid the grave political crisis, a state of emergency was declared 11 days before the election scheduled for 22 January, suspending the election which was held on 29 December, 2008.
Iajuddin Ahmed, who assumed the office of the chief advisor of the caretaker government in addition to his duty as the president ignoring the other constitutional alternatives, faced the wrath of the Awami League and its allies.
They staged demonstrations against Iajuddin and seized Bangabhaban as his role as the chief advisor of the caretaker government was mired in controversy.
Finally, he resigned as the chief advisor on 11 January, 2007 declaring a state of emergency.
A new parliament was formed through the 2008 election, seeing Zillur Rahman elected as president replacing Iajuddin Ahmed in February 2009.
Zillur, who was elected to the presidency on Awami League nomination, died in April 2013 after his long illness.
He became only the third president to have died in office after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman.
The same month Abdul Hamid, then Speaker, was elected to the presidency.
Hamid was the luckiest among all other presidents as he was elected as president twice and remained at the Bangabhaban his full terms until his successor Shahabuddin entered the office in April 2023.
During Zillur’s illness, Hamid also acted as the president.
Hamid’s successor Shahabuddin was discussed as the luckiest person when he was nominated by the AL to become the president due to his low profile. But Hasina’s ouster made his fate uncertain.
After more than one-and-a-half decades, protesters again staged demonstrations in front of the Bangabhaban seeking resignation of President Shahabuddin.
The presidency is now at a crossroads.
A different story
In the first two decades after Bangladesh’s independence, the story of the office of the president was different. Except for the first three years, the rest of the period followed the presidential form of the government.
In a parliamentary democracy, the president is considered as a titular head with executive power remaining vested in the prime minister. Except for the appointments of the prime minister and the chief justice, the president acts on advise of the prime minister. Therefore all other constitutional powers of the president are exercised by the prime minister.
But in the presidential form of the government, the president leads the executive branch.
Bangladesh began its constitutional journey with having the presidential form of the government with an ad hoc constitution under the Proclamation of Independence Order (10 April 1971).
The ad hoc constitution vested the president of the Mujibnagar government with all executive and legislative authority and the power to appoint a prime minister.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was arrested in the early hours of 26 March 1971 by the Pakistan army and flown to Pakistan, was made the president of the government.
In his absence, Syed Nazrul Islam acted as the president while Tajuddin Ahmed as the prime minister ran the show during the war of liberation.
Bangabandhu returned to independent Bangladesh as its president on 10 January 1972.
Visual: Duniya Jahan/ TBS Creative
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Visual: Duniya Jahan/ TBS Creative
Two days later, on 12 January, he promulgated the Provisional Constitution of Bangladesh Order, 1972 which declared the members elected to the National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies of Pakistan in the elections held in December 1970 and March 1971 as the Constituent Assembly of the Republic.
The Order changed the form of government to a parliamentary system with a cabinet of ministers headed by the Prime Minister.
Sheikh Mujib became the prime minister while Justice Abu Sayeed Chowdhury was made the president.
He was later elected as president in April, 1973, but in December of the same year he resigned to become special envoy for external relations with the rank of a minister.
Then Speaker Mohammadullah, who first became acting president after the resignation of Justice Chowdhury, was elected to the presidency in January 1974.
But the next year, the country switched to the presidential form of the government, discarding parliamentary democracy through the controversial fourth amendment to the constitution.
Sheikh Mujib was declared president of Bangladesh through the same amendment and he replaced Mohammadullah on 25 January 1975.
His regime could not last long. He was brutally assassinated and his government was overthrown in a bloody coup on 15 August 1975.
The country was placed under martial law declared by Khandker Mustaque Ahmad who was installed to the presidency on the same day.
But Mushtaque too could not last long.
He was replaced by then chief justice Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem on 6 November 1975 through a counter coup. Justice Sayem was also made the chief martial law administrator.
Justice Sayem too failed to continue as the president for long. First he removed himself from the office of the chief martial law administrator in November 1976 and was replaced by then army chief Gen Ziaur Rahman.
When Sayem resigned the presidency for health reasons in April 1977, Ziaur Rahman became the president of the same martial law regime.
He was elected president in June 1978. But he was murdered in an abortive coup in May 1981.
His vice-president Justice Sattar became acting president and continued until he was elected in presidential election in November of the same year.
Even after being elected, Justice Sattar could not continue for long.
It was then army chief Gen HM Ershad who ousted his government and placed the country under martial law—second time in independent Bangladesh—on 24 March 1982.
Gen Ershad did not grab the presidency at the beginning.
Rather he made himself the chief martial law administrator, who exercised the executive powers of the state by keeping the constitution suspended.
Gen Ershad installed Justice Abul Fazal Mohammad Ahsanuddin Choudhury to the presidency on March 27, three days after the coup.
For the first time the army as an institution staged the coup and grabbed state power. In August 1975, the army as a force was not involved in the bloody changeover of the Mujib government.
Gen Ershad, however, was not happy with the office of the chief martial law administrator. He also grabbed the presidency in November 1983 by removing Justice Ahsanuddin.
He was elected as president in the presidential election in October 1986.
But his term was cut short, as he was deposed in an uprising on 6 December 1990, handing over power to Justice Shahabuddin, then chief justice who was appointed as vice-president by Ershad before his resignation on the basis of a national consensus.
The Justice Shahabuddin-led government became successful in offering Bangladesh the first free and fair election in February 1991 in which BNP won and formed the government.
The country switched to parliamentary democracy from the presidential form of the government through the 12th amendment to the constitution in September 1991.
Justice Shahabuddin returned to the post of the chief justice in October 1991 only after his successor Abdur Rahman Biswas was elected to replace him.
In a parliamentary democracy, the president acts as “the symbol of unity, solidarity, and integrity of the nation and is the first citizen of the State.
In Bangladesh, the office of the president could not reach that height because of ailing politics.
A history of a house
The president’s office cum residence, Bangabhaban, has a rich century old history.
During British rule, on 11 September 1905, when a new province was formed in East Bengal and Assam, the journey of Bangabhaban started as the office and residence of the lieutenant governor, the then chief governor of the domiciled province. It was named “Government House”, says Bangabhaban website.
When the state of Pakistan was born on August 14, 1947, the “Government House” was selected as the office and residence of the new provincial governor. At that time, the government house was renamed as “Governor House”.
After Bangladesh emerged as an independent country, acting President Syed Nazrul Islam, Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed and other members of the cabinet held a cabinet meeting on December 23, 1971 in the Governor House.
In that meeting, the governor’s house was renamed “Bangabhaban”.
“As an emblem of glory and honor, Bangabhaban symbolises hopes and aspirations of the nation”, says the president’s office.
But this is not the case. The ailing state of politics has meant the president’s office’s words ring hollow.
