‘Weighing scale’ dropped from list of reserved electoral symbols

The ‘weighing scale’ has been taken off the list of symbols reserved for candidates in parliamentary elections in the country.

The Election Commission officials received the gazette on the necessary changes on the matter to election conduction rules on Wednesday.

With the discard, the number of preserved symbols for parliamentary elections now stands at 64.

The authorities took the step barring candidates and political parties from using the ‘weighing scale’ symbol in polls following a Supreme Court order.

The Supreme Court’s full bench meeting on Dec 12 last year decided not to let any political party use its monogram ‘weighing scale’, the symbol of justice, as the electoral symbol.

After the EC Secretariat had received the order, a meeting of the EC decided to drop the symbol No. 32 from the list of reserved symbols in the election conduction rules. The government published the gazette on the matter after vetting by the law ministry.

The Jamaat-e-Islami, which opposed Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan, had been using the 'weighing scale' as its election symbol.

The party also obtained EC registration with the 'weighing scale' as its election symbol on Nov 4, 2008.

It later lost its registration following a High Court order for having a charter that goes against the Bangladesh Constitution. It appealed against the order, and the decision is still pending.