<p>Mohammad Shahabuddin Chuppu, a former judge and freedom fighter, is set to become Bangladesh's next president after the ruling Awami League, which holds an absolute majority in Parliament, nominated him for the top post.</p>.<p>Chuppu, 74, will replace President Mohammad Abdul Hamid, whose tenure ends on April 24.</p>.<p>"The Election Commission (EC) has received his (Chuppu's) nomination paper submitted by Bangladesh Awami League,” a spokesman of the independent statutory body said.</p>.<p>He said the EC would now accomplish the procedural formalities for his election by Members of Parliament.</p>.<p>The Awami League has 305 seats in the 350-member House.</p>.<p>The tenure of Hamid, the longest-serving president of the country, will end on April 23, and according to the Constitution, he cannot hold a third term.</p>.<p>Senior Awami League leader and seven-time lawmaker Hamid was elected Bangladesh president in the last two elections. He was sworn in for his second term on April 24, 2018.</p>.<p>Awami League chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina greeted Shahabuddin with a flower bouquet after the submission of his nomination.</p>.<p>EC officials and political analysts said Chuppu’s installation as the 22nd president of Bangladesh was now a matter of mere formalities as the official Opposition in Parliament Jatiya Party decided against nominating anyone for the highest office.</p>.<p>“Everything is Allah's will,” Chuppu was quoted as saying by the Dhaka Tribune newspaper.</p>.<p>“There is no reaction now. This is Almighty Allah's will,” he told reporters after submitting his nomination paper at the Election Commission.</p>.<p>The main Opposition outside Parliament, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), cannot nominate anyone since all of its seven lawmakers resigned in December 2022 as part of their anti-government campaign ahead of general elections expected to be held in December this year.</p>.<p>Obaidul Quader, the General Secretary of the Awami League, meanwhile, told reporters that Awami League Parliamentary Party (ALPP) had entrusted Prime Minister Hasina with the task of nominating a candidate for the presidency and she nominated Chuppu.</p>.<p>After his retirement as a district and sessions judge, Chuppu served as one of the commissioners of the independent Anti-Corruption Commission. He later joined politics and become a member of the Awami League Advisory Council, which comprises senior party leaders and technocrats.</p>.<p>However, Chappu will have to relinquish the party post to become the titular head of the State.</p>.<p>Born in the northwestern Pabna district, Chuppu was a leader of Awami League’s student and youth wings in the late 1960s and early 1970s.</p>.<p>Chappu also took part in the 1971 Liberation War and was imprisoned for waging a protest after the August 15, 1975 assassination of Bangladesh’s founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman -- the father of Prime Minister Hasina -- in a military coup along with most of his family members.</p>.<p>The coup also led to the toppling of the Awami League government. In 1982, he was inducted into the country’s judicial service.</p>.<p>Chuppu served as the coordinator of the Bangabandhu murder trial when Awami League returned to power in the 1996 elections.</p>.<p>Chuppu’s wife Rebeka Sultana is the former joint secretary to the government. The couple has one son.</p>
<p>Mohammad Shahabuddin Chuppu, a former judge and freedom fighter, is set to become Bangladesh's next president after the ruling Awami League, which holds an absolute majority in Parliament, nominated him for the top post.</p>.<p>Chuppu, 74, will replace President Mohammad Abdul Hamid, whose tenure ends on April 24.</p>.<p>"The Election Commission (EC) has received his (Chuppu's) nomination paper submitted by Bangladesh Awami League,” a spokesman of the independent statutory body said.</p>.<p>He said the EC would now accomplish the procedural formalities for his election by Members of Parliament.</p>.<p>The Awami League has 305 seats in the 350-member House.</p>.<p>The tenure of Hamid, the longest-serving president of the country, will end on April 23, and according to the Constitution, he cannot hold a third term.</p>.<p>Senior Awami League leader and seven-time lawmaker Hamid was elected Bangladesh president in the last two elections. He was sworn in for his second term on April 24, 2018.</p>.<p>Awami League chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina greeted Shahabuddin with a flower bouquet after the submission of his nomination.</p>.<p>EC officials and political analysts said Chuppu’s installation as the 22nd president of Bangladesh was now a matter of mere formalities as the official Opposition in Parliament Jatiya Party decided against nominating anyone for the highest office.</p>.<p>“Everything is Allah's will,” Chuppu was quoted as saying by the Dhaka Tribune newspaper.</p>.<p>“There is no reaction now. This is Almighty Allah's will,” he told reporters after submitting his nomination paper at the Election Commission.</p>.<p>The main Opposition outside Parliament, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), cannot nominate anyone since all of its seven lawmakers resigned in December 2022 as part of their anti-government campaign ahead of general elections expected to be held in December this year.</p>.<p>Obaidul Quader, the General Secretary of the Awami League, meanwhile, told reporters that Awami League Parliamentary Party (ALPP) had entrusted Prime Minister Hasina with the task of nominating a candidate for the presidency and she nominated Chuppu.</p>.<p>After his retirement as a district and sessions judge, Chuppu served as one of the commissioners of the independent Anti-Corruption Commission. He later joined politics and become a member of the Awami League Advisory Council, which comprises senior party leaders and technocrats.</p>.<p>However, Chappu will have to relinquish the party post to become the titular head of the State.</p>.<p>Born in the northwestern Pabna district, Chuppu was a leader of Awami League’s student and youth wings in the late 1960s and early 1970s.</p>.<p>Chappu also took part in the 1971 Liberation War and was imprisoned for waging a protest after the August 15, 1975 assassination of Bangladesh’s founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman -- the father of Prime Minister Hasina -- in a military coup along with most of his family members.</p>.<p>The coup also led to the toppling of the Awami League government. In 1982, he was inducted into the country’s judicial service.</p>.<p>Chuppu served as the coordinator of the Bangabandhu murder trial when Awami League returned to power in the 1996 elections.</p>.<p>Chuppu’s wife Rebeka Sultana is the former joint secretary to the government. The couple has one son.</p>