The Election Commission (EC) has reserved 115 electoral symbols for registered parties and independent candidates for the upcoming 13th national parliamentary election.
However, the “Shapla” symbol has been excluded from the list, while the “Boat” symbol has been suspended. The remaining symbols will be allocated to candidates, according to the latest guidelines.
On Wednesday, the EC published a gazette signed by Secretary Akhtar Ahmed, which amends the parliamentary election rules.
Previously, the election rules included 69 symbols for both partisan and independent candidates, but this number has now increased to 115.
Currently, 50 political parties are registered with the EC, while five others are suspended or had their registration canceled. Symbols have been reserved for these registered parties. Additionally, the EC has reserved symbols for independent candidates as well.
The National Citizen Party (NCP), which has been advocating for the inclusion of the ‘Shapla’ symbol. This means the NCP will not be able to use the “Shapla” symbol.
However, the “Scale” symbol, previously used by the banned Jamaat-e-Islami, has been reinstated in the list following the party’s registration renewal.
Since the ban on Awami League activities, its registration remains suspended. Soon after the ban, there were calls to remove the “Boat” symbol from the list. However, the EC had maintained the “Boat” symbol in the reserved list. This symbol has now been suspended from the final list.
