'We too shall see how any election is held': Sarjis slams EC for denying 'Shapla' symbol to NCP
Sarjis said, “The NCP’s symbol must be the shapla. There is no alternative. Otherwise, we too shall see how any election is held, and who dreams of coming to power and enjoying its spoils.”
National Citizen Party (NCP) Chief Organiser (North) Sarjis Alam has criticised the Election Commission for not allotting the "Shapla" (water lily) as the party's electoral symbol.
"The party [NCP] had clearly requested the shapla symbol at the time of its initial registration application, so whose responsibility was it to add shapla to the list of electoral symbols? Have the Election Commission officials been sitting idly by all this time, watching a drama? Or, while claiming to be an independent institution, have they in fact been taking instructions from another body, party, or agency?" he wrote in a Facebook post today (23 September).
Sarjis in his post further said, "Since there is no legal obstacle, the NCP's symbol must be the shapla. There is no alternative. Otherwise, we too shall see how any election is held, and who dreams of coming to power and enjoying its spoils."
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His comments came after the Election Commission (EC) Secretary Akhter Ahmed stated, "The 'Shapla' is not included in the list of electoral symbols as per the regulations. Therefore, it cannot be allocated as a party symbol."
The secretary added, "The shapla is not on our list of 115 electoral symbols. According to the rules, political parties must choose a symbol from the approved list. Therefore, the NCP will have to pick an alternative symbol."
Earlier, yesterday (22 September), a delegation from the NCP met with the Chief Election Commissioner.
After the meeting, briefing journalists at the EC building, the party's chief coordinator, Nasiruddin Patwari, said, "First of all, some good news is coming for us after the July interim period. We are moving towards a positive sign in the registration process, and a piece of good news is coming."
He added, "Today, we also stated that we have requested the Shapla, White Shapla, and Red Shapla symbols. We are not moving away from these three symbols. We have learned that conspiratorial actions are being taken regarding these symbols. The NCP's registration must be made with any one of these three symbols, and this cannot be altered."
