NCP must get 'shapla' symbol, no other option: Sarjis Alam

Sarjis Alam, the Chief Organizer of the National Citizen Party (NCP) for the northern region, has firmly stated that his party must be allotted the 'shapla' as its electoral symbol, emphasizing that “there is no other option.”

In a verified Facebook post published this afternoon around 3:00pm, Alam criticized the Election Commission (EC) for what he described as administrative negligence and questioned the integrity of the symbol allocation process.

According to Alam, the Secretary of the Election Commission informed that the 'shapla' symbol is not on the current list of available electoral symbols, and for that reason, NCP cannot be allotted the symbol.

“The issue is not a legal one,” he wrote in his post. “It’s simply because 'shapla' isn’t included in the list. When NCP first applied for registration, it clearly stated its preference for 'shapla'. So who was responsible for adding it to the list? Has the Election Commission been sitting idle all this time watching a drama unfold? Or is this so-called independent institution operating under the influence of other parties, agencies, or interests?”

Alam also warned that his party would resist what he termed as "political hypocrisy."

“All forms of duplicity will be dealt with politically. Since there is no legal bar, the NCP symbol must be 'shapla'. There is no alternative,” he said. “Otherwise, we too will closely observe how elections are conducted, and who dreams of coming to power and enjoying its privileges.”

The remarks come amid growing criticism of the Election Commission’s transparency and impartiality, particularly in the lead-up to the upcoming national elections.