Muktodesh desk: The Election Commission (EC) has no change in its position on the controversial Shapla symbol issue. The constitutional body will not go beyond the existing list. The commission will issue a public notice for registration this week by giving an alternative symbol to the National Citizens Party (NCP).
EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed confirmed the matter to the media on Monday.
Meanwhile, commission sources said that if the Shapla symbol is given to the NCP in the changed circumstances, the neutrality of the agency will be questioned. New complications may also arise on the issue. On the other hand, the NCP is also adamant on its position. It will not accept registration without the party’s Shapla symbol. Whether it is red or white, they will have to give this symbol.
The verification of information and data of several other parties eligible for registration on the occasion of the 13th National Parliament elections is in the final stage. The EC will allocate symbols by combining the remaining parties that will get registration with the NCP. While granting registration, an alternative symbol to the Shapla will be allocated in favor of the NCP like other parties. In this case, the EC officials concerned said that the allocation could be from either the pen or the mobile phone in the NCP’s initial application. Both these symbols are also in the commission’s latest schedule.
Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Machud said, “I am not aware of the latest decision on whether to give the NCP a palm leaf or not.” However, when asked about the EC’s latest position on the palm leaf, an EC official, who did not reveal his name as he was not allowed to speak, told Amar Desh that the decision of the commission is retrospective (what was there before is still the same). When asked about the CEC’s position on this matter, he said that his position is similar. He said, there is no opportunity to give anything that is not in our rules (the list of symbols). Whichever party gets registration will have to take the symbol allocation from the list. The commissioner also said that there is no pressure from the government in this regard.
He also said that the palm leaf is being widely promoted – such as palm leaves for money, palm leaves on national identity cards, palm leaves on passports and palm leaves in the army.
NCP says that in addition to the ‘Shapla’, they wanted two more symbols, one of which was a pen and the other a mobile phone. Later, Shapla was chosen as the party symbol and the other two were canceled on their own initiative. But the EC was not informed about it. If there is a controversy over the Shapla, the NCP wants to change its position and get either ‘red Shapla or white Shapla’.
The party leaders say that they will not move a hair outside this symbol. However, if the preferred symbol is not found in the end, what decision will be taken? It will be decided in the discussion at the forum.
NCP Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwari told Amar Desh, we have informed the Commission that we want Shapla as a symbol. Later, we asked for white Shapla and red Shapla as alternatives to Shapla.
After investigation, it was learned that the EC has given a legal explanation for not giving Shapla. But the NCP is reluctant to accept it. Referring to the first paragraphs of Article 4 of the Constitution, Articles 3 and 4, the EC claimed in their explanation that according to the Constitution, the national symbol is the Shapla. The Constitution prohibits the unauthorized use of the national anthem, flag and symbol. And it is also identified as a crime. For this reason, flags marked with the national symbol Shapla are kept flying along with the national flag in the offices of the President and the Prime Minister. Moreover, this symbol is being used in the logos of many government agencies and institutions.
The EC further says in their explanation that there will be three major problems if this symbol is allocated to a political party. These are: If the symbol used in the national identity card is associated with a party, it will create confusion in the minds of the general public and the impartiality of the state identity card will be questioned. Voters may think that it is directly related to a political party.
Therefore, the transparency and credibility of the electoral process may be lost and confusion may be created in the public mind. Using the Shapla for political purposes will be against the principles of impartiality and fair elections of the Constitution. For this reason, the EC did not give the Shapla symbol to the registered political party ‘Nagarik Oikya’. It will be unfair and unreasonable to allocate the Shapla symbol to any party in the future.
In this regard, Dr. Imtiaz Ahmed, former professor of the Department of International Relations at Dhaka University, told Amar Desh, Shapla is our national flower. Therefore, it carries the national identity. However, it is the prerogative of the EC to allocate it as a symbol to any party or not; it should be left to them. On the other hand, since the EC is a constitutional body, if it succumbs to pressure from anyone, it will question their impartiality.
Habibur Rahman, a lawyer at the Appellate Division, told Amar Desh that the national flower Shapla is reserved as a state asset. Even the symbol carries the identity of Bangladesh in the outside world. However, if a registered party does not get the Shapla symbol, it can go to court. The Supreme Court Appellate Division can decide on this matter.
NCP to be registered with an alternative symbol this week
If the Election Commission fails to choose a symbol from the list provided by the Election Commission, the Election Commission will allocate a suitable symbol to the NCP, said EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed. He also mentioned that a public notice will be issued this week with another symbol.
While talking to reporters at the Election Building in Agargaon in the capital yesterday, the EC Secretary also said that the commission’s position is clear. The notification of the symbol will be published along with the list of registrable political parties during the allocation of symbols.
On the question regarding the Shapla symbol, he said that the commission has already stated its position. So far, no alternative proposal has come to the commission in this regard. The commission’s previous position still stands. The EC will issue a public notice with the symbol at its own discretion.
