United News of Bangladesh

National Citizen Party-NCP on Sunday alleged that the Election Commission (EC) is making an ‘arbitrary decision’ by denying the party its desired electoral symbol ‘Water Lily’. “We’ve seen that the Election Commission is taking an arbitrary decision,” said NCP chief organiser for the southern region Hasnat Abdullah while talking to reporters after a meeting between an NCP delegation and EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed at Nirbachan Bhaban in the city. Hasnat said the Commission could not provide any legal explanation for refusing to allocate the ‘Water Lily’ symbol, adding that the party has no alternative choice for its symbol. "About the activities of the Election Commission, we have been saying from the very beginning that it seems like an institutional autocracy is being created," he said. ‘Shapla’ can't be allotted as it's not on official list: EC Over the EC schedule on the list of symbols, the NCP leader said there is no clear policy explaining how the symbols are included in the schedule. Secondly, there is no policy explaining why ‘Water Lily’ wouldn't be included in the list. Thirdly, there is no clear guideline on how political parties have been allocated symbols over different periods, he added. Hasnat said the Commission’s behaviour reflects a resemblance to ‘medieval monarchs’.  “We have repeatedly told them that the Election Commission is a constitutional body. This institution must operate on a legal and policy-based framework,” he said. Hasnat alleged that the EC’s recent decisions seem to be “imposed from elsewhere.” “It has become clear to us through our discussions with them that the decisions are being imposed on them….I’ve said before — the remote control of this Election Commission is not in Agargaon. It’s being operated from somewhere else,” he added. “Whenever we talk to them, it seems like this decision is not theirs to make. This decision is imposed on them and they are actually forced to make this decision,” said the NCP leader. 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. 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.  

The Election Commission (EC) has again sent a letter to National Citizen Party-NCP, asking it to pick one from the reserved list of electoral symbols by October 19, said EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed on Tuesday. "We have sent a letter to them (NCP) asking them to inform us of their desired symbol by October 19. If they do not inform us by October 19, the Election Commission will take a decision on the symbol at its own discretion," he told reporters at Nirbachan Bhaban in the city. The EC Secretary 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." Replying to a question if there is any legal barrier to incorporate ‘Water Lily’ in the symbol list, he said the commission thinks there is no need to include the Water Lily. People to reaffirm Bangladesh’s non-communal spirit in next election: Fakhrul When asked under which law and under what reasoning Shapla is not being included, the EC secretary did not give a direct answer. He said, "The law is needed based on the environment, situation and necessity." About Jamaat’s proposals to hold a referendum before the national election and introduce the proportional representation (PR) system in the next election, the EC Secretary said he has nothing to say about the issues.  “When the Commission takes a final decision, we’ll inform you. The same remark is also for the referendum. Until the EC is asked to take any step (by the government), we have nothing to do about it,” he said. Regarding political party registration, Akhtar Ahmed said the EC engaged its field officials to collect additional information about 12 parties who applied for registration. “We hope to reach a solution by next week after reviewing their reports.” CEC sees security to be biggest challenge during elections He said the EC has invited all law enforcement agencies to a meeting at the EC Secretariat on October 20 as part of the series of electoral dialogues with different stakeholders ahead of the 13th parliamentary election planned to be held in early February 2026. About expatriate voters, the EC Secretary said work is progressing well to ensure that they can apply their voting rights in the next election. “We expect to launch the registration app (for expats) by the last week of October or by the first week of November. Currently, the NID registration is ongoing in 11 countries,” he said. 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. PR needed to make every vote count, and for fair elections: Jamaat’s Hamidur Rahman Azad 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. “In recent times, several political parties have demanded the ‘Water Lily’ as their electoral symbol. In this context, if the national emblem of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh — the Water Lily — is allowed as a party symbol, Bangladesh Congress should be recognised as the first claimant and given priority,” said a letter Bangladesh Congress submitted to the EC. 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.