The National Citizen Party (NCP) has accused Bangladesh’s Election Commission (EC) of bias and arbitrariness after being denied the ‘Shapla’ (water lily) symbol, despite being granted registration as a political party. NCP stated that the EC initially assured them of including Shapla in its list of election symbols, and the flower has since gained widespread recognition as the party’s emblem. The EC later reversed its position, claiming Shapla is a national emblem, though NCP argued legally it is only one component of the emblem, as seen with other symbols like ‘paddy sheaf’ and ‘star’ already allocated to parties. The party further alleged that powerful political actors influenced the EC’s decision, questioning the commission’s neutrality. NCP warned that such inconsistency undermines free and fair elections. The party has urged the EC to amend rules if necessary and allocate Shapla, White Shapla, or Red Shapla to ensure an equal playing field for all.