In the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election, even if registered political parties contest as an alliance, each party will have to participate under its own electoral symbol.
The Election Commission (EC) has issued the Representation of the People Order, 2025 (RPO), incorporating this provision.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs published the gazette notification of the ordinance. A series of amendments have been made to the RPO ahead of the upcoming national election.
Earlier, on October 23, the Advisory Council gave its in-principle approval to the draft of the RPO amendment ordinance. Later, the BNP raised objections to the amendment of Article 20, which deals with the issue of alliance symbols, while the Jamaat-e-Islami and NCP demanded that the amendment be upheld.
Ultimately, the ordinance was issued keeping the provision that, even if parties form alliances, they must contest under their respective party symbols. This means that in the 13th National Parliamentary Election, if multiple registered political parties form an alliance, an alliance-nominated candidate cannot contest using the symbol of another or larger party. They must use the symbol of their own party.
A new provision has been added to Article 20 (Allocation of Symbols) of the amended RPO, which clarifies and expands the rules regarding the allocation of a common symbol for alliance-based parties.
Regarding the symbol allocation for alliance parties, the amended RPO states: "If two or more registered political parties agree to nominate a joint candidate in an election, the Election Commission (EC) may, upon application, allocate for joint use the symbol reserved for the party to which that candidate belongs. This application must be submitted to the EC within three days of the announcement of the election schedule under Article 11."
