Former president Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem's life was hanging in the balance until he was obliged to sign, Prime Minister's ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy said in a Facebook post.
Following the assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Sayem was made president of the country on November 6, 1975, and continued till April 21, 1977.
President Sayem, who was succeeded by Ziaur Rahman, secretly bore the pain of not being able to hand over power to people's representatives through an election, Joy said.
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"Zia promised Sayem that he would arrange an election. But, staying in the position of the military chief, he organised a 'yes-no' vote, which means that he was the sole candidate and people could vote only in favour of or against him," he added.
Joy called this a "dark chapter in history" that the "BNP kept locked for long."