The National Citizen Party (NCP) has announced it will contest the upcoming national parliamentary elections with the ‘Shapla Koli’ (water lily bud) symbol, despite expressing dissatisfaction with the Election Commission’s handling of the process.
On Sunday (2 November), following a meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner at the Election Commission headquarters in Agargaon, Dhaka, NCP’s Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary confirmed the decision. He said that although the party was unhappy with what it described as the Election Commission’s slow and arbitrary behavior, it had accepted the proposed symbol in the interest of moving forward with election preparations.
Patwary criticized the Election Commission, calling it an “engineering commission”, and accused it of unnecessary delays in finalizing electoral symbols. He noted that the NCP had applied for its preferred symbol long ago, but the matter had remained unresolved. Nevertheless, he said the party views the ‘Shapla Koli’ symbol positively and intends to complete the registration process quickly so it can begin campaigning. Party leaders also confirmed that the NCP plans to field candidates in all 300 constituencies independently.
Meanwhile, Hasnat Abdullah, the party’s chief organizer for the southern region, voiced further dissatisfaction with the Election Commission. Speaking at a district and metropolitan coordination meeting at the Barishal Shilpakala Academy auditorium on Sunday afternoon, Abdullah said the commission had failed to explain why the NCP was not granted the ‘Shapla’ (water lily) symbol it had originally requested. He argued that this lack of transparency had created doubts about the commission’s activities.
The NCP’s acceptance of the ‘Shapla Koli’ symbol marks a strategic compromise, allowing the party to proceed with its electoral campaign while continuing to criticize the Election Commission’s conduct.
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