(BSS) – National Citizen Party (NCP) Chief Organizer for southern region Hasnat Abdullah today said their party would sign the July Charter only after the interim government made it public how the document would be implanted.

“We will sign the Charter only after the government makes it open for public scrutiny,” he told reporters after a coordination meeting of the NCP’s Barguna unit at the district Shilpakala Academy auditorium.

Hasnat said there are differing views on how the Charter’s reform agenda should be implemented — some suggesting it should be done through next parliament, others opt for its enforcement through a referendum.

But, he said, NCP believed the charter should be realized through a “constituent assembly” following its endorsement by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus through a “constitutional order”.

“The next parliament should have dual responsibilities — functioning both as a routine legislature and a constituent assembly — to implement the July Charter effectively,” Hasnat added.

The key-NCP leader simultaneously demanded a written Election Commission (EC) legal explanation over its refusal to grant the party its desired “Shapla” or “water lily” as electoral symbol.

“We have repeatedly asked the Election Commission to explain under which policy it has allocated symbols to other parties. If they deny us the Shapla, they must provide a written legal explanation,” he said.

Hasnat said the Election Commission has not clarified the policy or principles guiding the allocation of electoral symbols and feared its neutrality adding “when political parties are divided and the Commission is under various influences, it is difficult to believe that it can remain impartial.”

He reiterated NCP’s firm position on the symbol issue saying “we have not changed our stance on reform or on the Shapla symbol. Our position remains clear and consistent.”