NCP leaders meet CEC over desired party symbol ‘Shapla’

Leaders of the National Citizen Party (NCP) have held a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) A M M Nasir Uddin to discuss their desired party symbol, the Shapla (water lily).

The meeting began around 3pm on Sunday, November 2, at the Election Commission office.

NCP Chief Coordinator Nasir Uddin Patwary, Joint Member Secretary Zahirul Islam Musa, and Joint Convenor Khaled Saifullah were present at the meeting.

According to party sources, the meeting was primarily held to press the demand for including Shapla in the list of election symbols. The party has long been claiming Shapla as its electoral symbol.

However, the Election Commission had earlier stated that Shapla could not be allocated to any party as it is not included in the election conduct rules. Consequently, no political party has yet been assigned this symbol.

Last Thursday, the Election Commission published a new list of symbols for registered political parties and independent candidates through a circular signed by its Secretary, Akhtar Ahmed. Although the symbol Shapla Kali (water lily bud) was added to the list, the NCP’s demanded Shapla was not included.

Ahead of the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election, the Election Commission has decided to grant registration to two new political parties, including the NCP. The process of publishing a notice to check whether there are any objections regarding the registration is currently underway.

Meanwhile, NCP Convenor Nahid Islam expressed dissatisfaction over the Election Commission’s stance on the party symbol. At a press conference today, he said, “Instead of supporting a new party, the Election Commission is creating obstacles in our work. They could have approved the Shapla Kali symbol a month ago if they had wanted. We want only Shapla.”