EC Adds ‘Shapla Koli’ to Official List of Poll Symbols

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The Election Commission (EC) has amended the Election Conduct Rules to officially include ‘Shapla Koli’ (Water Lily Bud) in the list of approved election symbols.

The decision comes after a long-standing demand from the National Citizen Party (NCP), which had sought the ‘Shapla’ (Water Lily) as its electoral symbol. The EC had previously stated that the request could not be fulfilled since the symbol was not on its approved list.

A gazette notification issued on Thursday confirmed the inclusion of ‘Shapla Koli’. The notification, signed by EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed, stated that the amendment was made under the authority of Article 94 of the Constitution of 1972.

It further clarified that sub-rule (1) of rule 9 of the Election Conduct Rules, 2008, has been replaced with a new provision, allowing any contesting candidate—subject to availability—to be allotted one of the listed symbols, except those suspended under clause 20.