EC sends list of 115 electoral symbols to law ministry for vetting, excludes 'Shapla'

The Election Commission (EC) has sent a list of 115 electoral symbols, excluding the 'Shapla', to the Ministry of Law for vetting. 

Once approved, these symbols will be included in the official EC schedule, expanding the current number of symbols from 69 to 115.

According to EC sources, a total of 150 new symbols were initially shortlisted by the relevant committee. However, after internal review, the commission decided to trim the list down to 115. 

This revised list has now been submitted to the law ministry, which holds the authority to recommend additions or deletions before final approval.

Officials said the increasing number of political parties, including 147 new applications for registration, prompted the expansion. The commission aims to ensure that there are enough symbols to accommodate both newly registered parties and independent candidates in future elections. 

Of the proposed 115 symbols, 51 are designated for currently registered parties, while the rest are intended for new parties or independent candidates.

Notably, the symbol 'Shapla' has been excluded from the list, despite recent interest from several political parties.

On Wednesday (9 July), Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud told The Business Standard, "It has been decided in principle that Shapla will not be included as an electoral symbol."

The decision has drawn attention, especially from the National Citizen Party (NCP), which applied for registration on 22 June and listed 'Shapla' as its first choice, followed by 'Pen' and 'Mobile Phone'. 

Nagorik Oikya, currently registered under the 'Kettle' symbol, also filed a request on 17 June to switch to either 'Shapla' or 'Doel'.

Asked about the competing applications for the 'Shapla' symbol, Commissioner Masud said, "That's a matter for later – as of now, it's not included in the official schedule."

Under current EC regulations, only symbols listed in the official schedule may be allocated to political parties.

Currently, Shapla is not among the 69 electoral symbols that were approved in the last general election.

Of these, 50 were for registered parties, while five belonged to parties whose registrations have been suspended or cancelled. The remaining 19 were available for independent candidates.