Shahabuddin Chuppu takes oath as Bangladesh’s 22nd president

The 74-year-old retired judge from the ruling Awami League party was elected unopposed in February.

Shahabuddin Chuppu, a retired judge, has been sworn in as the new president of Bangladesh for a five-year term, replacing Abdul Hamid.

Parliament speaker Shirin Sharmin Choudhury took the oath of office to Shahabuddin, the 22nd president of the South Asian republic, at Bangabhaban presidential palace in Dhaka on Monday.

The event was broadcast live by the state-run Bangladesh Television and other private broadcasters.

Chuppu, the candidate of the ruling Awami League (AL) party, was elected unopposed on February 13 as no other candidate had submitted papers to enter the race.

With 302 members, the AL party has the majority in the national parliament with 350 seats, and no other party had the number to nominate a presidential candidate.

After taking the oath, the new president was congratulated by the outgoing president, Hamid – the only person in Bangladesh to hold the presidential post in two consecutive terms for 10 years.

According to the country’s constitution, presidential elections must be held 60 to 90 days before the end of each five-year term.

Born in 1949 in the northern Bengali city of Pabna, Chuppu retired as a judge in 2006.

A freedom fighter in the country’s 1971 war for independence, he also served as a commissioner of the country’s anti-corruption commission from 2011 to 2016.