In a sharp reaction to the Election Commission’s latest letter, the National Citizen Party (NCP) on Tuesday insisted that the ‘Water Lily’ must be allocated as its electoral symbol, saying the matter “does not depend on the Commission’s whim.”

“Even today, what the secretary said essentially means that it’s not about any legal bar — not giving the ‘Water Lily’ depends on the Commission’s mood and kindness. We have been saying this, after the July mass uprising, no institution can remain outside transparency and accountability to the people,” said NCP Joint member secretary Zahirul Islam Musa in a Facebook post, hours after the EC secretary’s media briefing.

Earlier EC senior secretary Akhtar Ahmed told reporters that the EC again sent a letter to National Citizen Party-NCP, asking it to pick one from the reserved list of electoral symbols by October 19. “If they (NCP) do not inform us (EC) by October 19, the Election Commission will take a decision on the symbol at its own discretion," he said.

Responding to the EC’s stance, Musa said the issue is not merely about the ‘Water Lily’ symbol but about the Election Commission’s institutional transparency, accountability, and credibility. “Earlier, the Chief Election Commissioner said he would not explain to the people why NCP won’t get the ‘Water Lily’. No institution can act unlawfully, discriminatorily or arbitrarily,” he added.

The NCP Joint member secretary said the Election Commission must clarify whether it is accountable to the people or dependent on any political party or any gunmen. “The NCP’s symbol is the Water Lily. The Water Lily must be given,” he asserted.

NCP Chief Organizer (Southern Region) Hasnat Abdullah also shared Musa’s post on his Facebook wall.

In a separate post, Hasnat also wrote, “NCP must gain the ‘Water Lily’ (as its electoral symbol).”

At the briefing, the EC Secretary also said the NCP’s desired symbol is ‘Water Lily’. “But the Election Commission's stance on this matter is that since it is not in the Election Commission's rules, there is no scope for it to be given.”

When asked if there is a possibility of creating instability with the election in the political arena if the decision is taken at one's own discretion, he said, "It is a matter of time, time will say."

Earlier on September 30, the EC sent a letter to NCP attaching a list of 50 reserved symbols, asking it to pick one from the list instead of its desired ‘Water Lily’ symbol by October 7.

In reply, the NCP again requested the EC to allocate the ‘Water Lily’ as its symbol and sent several designs of the desired emblem — ‘Water Lily’, ‘Red Water Lily’, and ‘White Water Lily’.

On October 9, a three-member NCP delegation, led by its Chief Coordinator Nasir Uddin Patwary, met Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin and reiterated their demand for the ‘Water Lily’ symbol.

NCP vows full-scale contest with capable candidates, insists on ‘water lily’ symbol

After the meeting, Patwary told reporters that NCP would not accept registration without the ‘Water Lily’. “We’ve made it clear that NCP will not receive registration without the Water Lily symbol. We’ll wait for a month,” he said.

Bangladesh Congress on Monday last asked the EC to allocate the ‘Water Lily’ symbol to the party if it is included in the list of electoral symbols as it was denied the symbol during its registration six years ago.

On September 25 last, Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin told reporters that Nagorik Oikya, led by Mahmudur Rahman Manna, first applied for the ‘water lily’ symbol and then NCP applied for the same symbol.

Manna said they will protest if the EC allocates ‘Water Lily’ to NCP, but they won’t go to the court challenging the EC’s decision.