The National Citizen Party on Sunday reaffirmed its demands for the reconstitution of the Election Commission and the allocation of water lily as the party鈥檚 electoral symbol ahead of the upcoming national election.
The NCP also demanded the removal of the Awami League鈥檚 electoral symbol boat from the current list of symbols of the commission as the registration of the party remained suspended.聽
An NCP delegation, including chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary, chief organisers Hasnat Abdullah and Sarjis Alam, joint member secretary Zahirul Islam Musa, and joint convener Khaled Saifullah, met the chief election commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin at Nirbachan Bhaban in the city.
After the meeting, Nasiruddin Patwary told reporters that the NCP would not accept any alternative to the water lily, arguing that there was no legal barrier to retaining it.
However, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud told reporters that even if the registration of the Awami League was suspended, the boat would remain in the EC鈥檚 symbol list for the time being and the Shapla would not be included as a symbol.
NCP leader Nasiruddin warned that any attempt to block the allocation of water lily would be met with political resistance, asserting that the party鈥檚 legal position remained strong.聽聽
鈥楾he Election Commission must be restructured before the election. This is a straightforward demand. The existing law under which the Election Commission was formed must be amended and the process should be according to the latest recommendation of the reform commission,鈥� he said.
Nasiruddin said that individuals with a record of integrity and competence could be retained in the new commission, warning that those acting as political spokespersons should be excluded.
Zahirul Islam Musa said that the party had submitted a fresh application to the EC, requesting the inclusion of water lily on the list of electoral symbols.
He said that the request was for the provisional reservation of the symbol for the NCP, subject to the party meeting the registration requirements and the EC making a favourable decision on its registration.
Musa expressed optimism that the legal arguments submitted with the application would be duly considered by the commission.
鈥業f the EC does not approve our application, it will need to present a stronger legal reasoning than ours to justify that decision to the public,鈥� he said.
Water lily, Musa clarified, is not Bangladesh鈥檚 only national symbol, adding that the national emblem includes four elements 鈥� water lily, paddy sheaf, star, and jute leaves 鈥� each of which is used as a symbol by different political parties of the country.
It is incorrect to represent water lily alone as the national emblem, he reasoned.
Musa said that they also demanded that the Awami League鈥檚 electoral symbol 鈥攂oat 鈥� should be treated as inactive and removed from the list of symbols as the registration of the party was currently suspended.
During the meeting, Musa disclosed, the NCP delegation discussed updates on their party registration application submitted on June 22.
They also discussed the progress of expatriate voting methods, he said.
