Amid speculation about Md Sahabuddin’s position as president, the Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad, Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, is cutting short his trip and returning home on Friday. Sources in the parliament secretariat said he will arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 12:10pm tomorrow on Thai Airways.
Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed travelled to Bangkok on July 19 for medical treatment. According to his schedule, a return ticket had been booked for July 26. But the parliament secretariat sources said he had been asked at a high level of government to cut the trip short and return on Friday.
An official of the parliament secretariat said: “According to the schedule the Speaker was due to return on July 26. But he has been asked at a high level of government to return quickly. That is why he is coming back on Friday.”
Asked why the Speaker was returning early, the official said: “We have been hearing various rumours since yesterday (about the president’s resignation). That may be why he is cutting the trip short and coming home. I hope everything will become clear tomorrow.”
Under article 54 of Bangladesh’s constitution, if the office of president falls vacant or the president is unable to discharge his duties, the Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad acts as president until a new president is elected. In that case Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed would serve as acting president until a new president is elected.
Although the Speaker would serve temporarily as president, article 123(1) of the constitution makes it mandatory for a new president to be elected by the votes of members of the Jatiya Sangsad within 90 days of the office falling vacant.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report