Hasina says Sheikh Selim will lead Awami League as president in her absence
The ousted prime minister has served as the Awami League president since 16 February 1981.
Ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina has said that Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, a Presidium member of the Bangladesh Awami League and her cousin, will perform the duties of the party president in her absence.
In an interview with Kolkata-based The Wall published yesterday (6 September), Hasina effectively ruled out the possibility of her sister Sheikh Rehana entering active politics.
Rehana is not directly involved in politics, she said.
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Speaking about the party's organisational leadership, Hasina told The Wall that Selim is currently the senior-most member of the Awami League Presidium and would therefore perform the duties of the party president in her absence.
Hasina, who has served as the president of the Awami League since 16 February 1981, fled to India on 5 August 2024 after a mass uprising ousted her and her party from power.
She has been living in New Delhi since then, while the Bangladesh government continues to press India to extradite Hasina, who was sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal in November 2025 after being convicted of crimes against humanity committed during the 2024 uprising.
