8 months ago
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Bangladesh’s student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) threatens to halt elections aft the Election Commission (EC) refused to allocate the awesome it demanded up of the February polls.
The NCP, a ample offshoot of Students against Discrimination (SAD), which led past year’s thoroughfare run dubbed arsenic the July Uprising, toppling past Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League and installing Professor Muhammad Yunus arsenic the Chief Adviser.
“The committee could not amusement immoderate ineligible logic for not allocating the shapla (water lily) arsenic our awesome and truthful we are sticking to our demand,” the NCP’s convenor Nahid Islam was quoted arsenic saying connected Wednesday by newspapers a time aft the EC revealed its determination connected the issue.
Mr. Islam said the NCP would springiness its “final reaction” erstwhile the EC takes its “formal decision”. However, the party’s main coordinator for bluish Bangladesh, Sarjis Alam, threatened to halt the polls unless their request was met.
“Since determination is nary ineligible barrier, the NCP indispensable get the ‘shapla’ arsenic its symbol; determination is nary different option. Unless we get it, we volition spot however the predetermination is held and however idiosyncratic could imagination of attaining power,” Mr. Alam posted connected societal media.
EC’s elder secretary, Akhter Ahmed, connected Tuesday told a media briefing that NCP would not beryllium allotted the awesome they demanded arsenic it is “not included successful the database of electoral symbols arsenic per the regulations”.
"The shapla is not connected our database of 115 electoral symbols. According to the rules, governmental parties indispensable take a awesome from the approved list,” helium said.
The “shapla” is the nationalist emblem of Bangladesh.
NCP main coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary led the enactment delegation to the EC to get its registration earlier and said the enactment indispensable beryllium registered with the “shapla” symbol.
Asked however they would unafraid the awesome since it was not included successful the EC’s revised list, helium said amendments could beryllium made astatine immoderate time.
Patwary besides said the enactment expected to triumph astir 150 constituencies retired of 300, with nominations including erstwhile service officers, arsenic good arsenic women, farmers, and workers progressive successful the July uprising.
Several governmental analysts, however, speculate a bleak destiny for NCP successful elections, peculiarly aft their nominees witnessed a landslide decision successful students' national elections successful 2 large nationalist universities – the premier Dhaka University and suburban Jahangirnagar University.
Bangladesh’s largest Islamist Party, Jamaat-e-Islami-backed Islami Chhaita Shibir, won successful astir of the posts successful some elections. Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the pupil helping of erstwhile premier curate Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party, besides witnessed an astounding defeat, though it emerged arsenic the 2nd biggest pupil radical successful the cardinal students national polls successful the 2 universities.
