The National Citizen Party (NCP) has once again applied for Shapla (water lily), white Shapla, or red Shapla to be included in the list of electoral symbols and allocated to the party.
The fresh application was sent on Wednesday via e-mail to Election Commission (EC) Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed, a day after he said the NCP had no chance of getting the Shapla symbol.
This is the party’s second application for the same set of symbols. The NCP first applied for registration with the EC on June 22, proposing Shapla, pen, and mobile phone as its choices.
Later, on August 3, NCP Convener Nahid Islam submitted a revised list to the EC, naming Shapla, white Shapla, and red Shapla as preferred options.
In Wednesday’s application, signed by Nahid Islam, the NCP said the EC’s refusal to allocate the Shapla symbol had “no legal basis” and instead reflected “hostility and arbitrariness” toward the party. It argued that such actions raised doubts about the commission’s neutrality and its commitment to ensuring a free and fair election with a level playing field for all parties.
The application also noted that a major political party had been actively opposing the allocation of the Shapla symbol to the NCP — a matter that has already drawn attention in political circles.
Nahid Islam called on the commission to abandon its “rigid and arbitrary stance” so that its role in ensuring an inclusive and impartial election is not questioned.
On Tuesday, EC Senior Secretary, Akhtar Ahmed, said that the Shapla symbol is not included in the list of party symbols for the upcoming national parliamentary election. Therefore, NCP will not be able to receive the Shapla symbol.
He explained: “NCP is not getting the Shapla symbol because in the schedule of 115 symbols, Shapla is not included. The rule is that parties must choose from the available symbols. If the Shapla symbol is not in that list, there is no way to assign it.”
