No one pressured us into including ‘Shapla Koli’ as electoral symbol: EC secretary
‘The list was revised considering some negative remarks, but not in response to anyone’s demand’, he says
The Election Commission (EC) did not include the "Shapla Koli" (Water Lily bud) in its official list of electoral symbols under anyone's pressure, said EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed today (30 October).
"Shapla (water lily) and Shapla Koli (Water Lily bud) are not the same. There is a clear difference between them. We did not add Shapla Koli under anyone's pressure. The commission decided on its own to include it," he told journalists after an inter-ministerial meeting on preparations for the upcoming national elections at the Nirbachan Bhaban in Agargaon, Dhaka.
Mentioning that the Election Conduct Rules, 2008 has been amended, the secretary said, "Previously, there were 115 symbols. Sixteen were dropped, and some new ones were added, bringing the total to 119 this time."
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Responding to another question, he added that Shapla Koli was not added in response to anyone's demand. "NCP [National Citizen Party] had asked for Shapla, not Shapla Koli, and there is a difference between the two."
Regarding the inclusion, the EC secretary said, "The list was revised considering some negative remarks, but not in response to anyone's demand."
Who asked for it or who did not — that is not a concern of the commission, he said, adding that the EC updated the list solely based on its own judgment.
