None will get ‘Shapla’ as election symbol: CEC

The Election Commission (EC) has decided not to include “Shapla” (water lily) as an election symbol under the Election Conduct Rules.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin once again clarified the commission’s position in this regard.

He made this remark during an interview with BBC Bangla. BBC Bangla published this interview on Sunday (July 13).

Earlier, the Nagorik Oikya had sought the water lily as its symbol instead of the kettle, while the newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP) also applied to use the symbol in its registration bid.

The commission reached the decision in the face of debate over whether a national emblem should be assigned to a political party.

The EC will exclude the water lily from the official list of election symbols under the conduct rules.

“In the newly proposed list of symbols, the water lily will not be included. It will not be part of our official schedule as an election symbol,” according to the commission.

Ahead of the general election, the commission is planning to increase the number of symbols available to parties and independent candidates -- from the previous 69 to at least 115.

The updated list will be included in a revised schedule under the conduct rules, which the EC plans to send to the law ministry for vetting.

On the issue of the water lily, both the national emblem and the national flag are protected under specific provisions in the Constitution.

There are queries asked by reporters to the CEC such as many parties have sought registration from you, almost 150. Many don’t even have signboards; they’ve been blown away by storms. What will you do about these registrations? In response to a question about the limited time remaining until the election, the CEC said, “Our scrutiny has already begun. We are reviewing all applications. For those who have shortfalls in their documents, we will give them 15 days’ time. After that period, if they don’t fulfill the conditions, we won’t be able to grant them registration. They will only receive registration if they meet the conditions stipulated by law.”

Regarding the deficiency of time, he said, “No problem, we have many field offices, they represent us. Around 5,700 people work in our field. We have already started the verification process through them. In many cases, reports have started coming in.”