EC to Issue Public Notice Giving NCP a Different Symbol

The Election Commission (EC) will issue a public notice assigning a different election symbol to the Nationalist Citizen Party (NCP), as the Shapla (water lily) symbol is not listed in the existing electoral regulations.

Senior Secretary of the Election Commission Secretariat, Akhtar Ahmed, confirmed this on Monday (27 October) while speaking to reporters at the EC headquarters in Agargaon, Dhaka.

“The Shapla symbol is not included in the schedule of approved election symbols, so there is no scope to allot it to the NCP,” he said. “The Election Commission will, at its discretion, issue a public notice granting the party another available symbol. The Commission remains firm in its previous position on this matter.”

He added that the EC had already conveyed its stance, and so far, no alternative proposal has been submitted. “The Commission still maintains its earlier position,” Ahmed reiterated.

Consultation on RPO Amendment

Regarding the proposed amendment to the Representation of the People Order (RPO), Akhtar Ahmed said the Commission had already held extensive discussions with political parties.
“So far, no conflicting issues have been identified. Therefore, speculative comments on this matter are unnecessary,” he observed.

He explained that the EC evaluated the proposed RPO amendments from five perspectives — transparency and acceptability, minor linguistic or numerical revisions, areas requiring political consensus, provisions adequately covered by existing laws, and aspects subject to the Commission’s own discretion.

42,761 Polling Centres Finalised

Meanwhile, the EC has finalised the list of polling centres for the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election, setting the total number at 42,761.

Speaking to journalists on Monday, Akhtar Ahmed said: “We have prepared the final list today. Across 300 constituencies in 64 districts, there will be a total of 42,761 polling centres.”

He further detailed that there would be 115,137 booths for male voters and 129,602 for female voters, making a total of 244,649 polling booths.

The EC has also identified 14 temporary polling centres with around 12,000 booths, where each booth is expected to accommodate about 3,000 voters on average. These are considered catchment areas and may be adjusted later if necessary.

According to EC data, the draft list had included 42,618 centres, slightly higher than the 42,148 centres used in the previous general election.

However, the total number of polling booths has slightly decreased — 244,649 booths this time compared to 261,564 booths in the last election.