AL nominates Shahabuddin Chuppu as next Bangladesh president

The Awami League has nominated Mohammed Shahabuddin Chuppu as its candidate for the upcoming presidential election.

A ruling party delegation led by Obaidul Quader submitted his nomination papers to the Election Commission headquarters in Dhaka on Sunday, reports bdnews24.com.

The delegation was also accompanied by Shahabuddin, a freedom fighter.

Earlier, the Awami League leaders met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence before filing the nomination. They later left for the EC offices around 10:30 am.

Several senior leaders of the Awami League had previously indicated that Shahabuddin, a member of the party's advisory council and a former commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission, was its presidential candidate.

Born in Pabna in 1949, Shahabuddin was an active member of the Pabna District Chhatra League, the Awami League's student affiliate, in his early days. He would later go on to serve as the president of the unit.

Following his involvement in the 1971 Liberation War, Shahabuddin joined the BCS judicial cadre in 1982. Having served in various capacities in the judiciary for 25 years, he retired as a district and sessions judge in 2006.

Shortly after the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami formed a coalition government in 2001, leaders and supporters of the Awami League and its affiliates, as well as members of minority communities, across the country came under attack, with various crimes, including murder, rape and looting being reported.

After the Awami League returned to power in 2008, the government formed a commission headed by Shahabuddin to investigate those crimes. From 2011-2016, Shahabuddin served as the commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission.

He completed his LLB degree from Rajshahi University in 1975 after completing his MSc at the same university.

Shahabuddin will succeed Md Abdul Hamid, Bangladesh's president since April 2013.

Before Hamid, 16 people have headed the state for 19 terms since the nation’s independence.

He, however, is the only one who was re-elected through the vote in February 2018 and cannot be elected again in line with the constitution.

With Hamid’s term expiring on Apr 23, Shahabuddin will become the 22nd president of Bangladesh.