By IANS
Dhaka : Bangladesh President Iajuddin Ahmed, whose term ends Wednesday, will continue in office till another person is elected, the country’s caretaker government has announced.
Seeking to end speculation in media and political circles about a possible successor to Ahmed, Law and Information Advisor Mainul Hosein said: “Any speculation in this regard is baseless and without any support of the constitution.”
He cited Article 50 (1) of the constitution that says the president “shall continue to hold office until his successor (a newly-elected president) enters upon office”.
Hosein made the observations to dispel “variegated speculations” about Ahmed’s tenure as president, The New Nation newspaper said Wednesday.
But with general elections called off in January, there is no parliament – whose members form the electoral college to choose a new president.
Without taking names, Hosein said: “It is the politicians who have violated the constitution. But the caretaker government will do its work as per the constitution.”
A demand that army chief Gen. Moin U. Ahmed “take over as ex-officio president” had been made last week by Najmul Huda, a former minister and lawmaker now in jail on corruption charges.
Huda had circulated a handwritten statement through his lawyer last week.
While there was no official reaction, New Age newspaper editorially rejected the idea as “an antic”.
Ahmed is a US-trained geologist and teacher. He found himself in the centre of controversy when he fell sick last year and travelled to Singapore for treatment. Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina had then accused her rival and Prime Minister Khaleda Zia of ‘engineering’ Ahmed’s sickness, so she (Zia) could take over the presidency herself or promote speaker Jamiruddin Sarkar.
Ahmed recovered from illness and resumed charge after many months.