Although the National Citizens Party (NCP) has begun announcing its candidates in preparation for the upcoming election, Nahid Islam, the party’s convener, emphasized that winning seats is not the main objective.

Nahid Islam stated that if the party’s goal were solely to win, they would have joined one of the existing political alliances. Speaking to journalists on Wednesday at the party’s temporary office in Banglamotor, Dhaka, Nahid made these remarks shortly after NCP announced its first-phase candidates for 125 constituencies in the 13th national election.

The caretaker government has already scheduled the 13th parliamentary election for February. Formed by youth leaders who led the July uprising, NCP will contest the election under the Shapla Kali symbol, with Nahid himself running in Dhaka-11.

Criticizing the nomination processes of other parties, Nahid said, “Candidates with criminal backgrounds or defaulted loans have been nominated in various constituencies. Whether the Election Commission takes action against them will determine how fairly it conducts the election process.”

He also highlighted concerns about the election environment, citing incidents such as posters being torn down and election campaigns violating rules, including excessive spending and displays of weapons. “We have informed the Election Commission that candidate expenditures must be properly audited. We are witnessing an alarming culture from both BNP and Jamaat,” he added.

Regarding NCP’s own candidate list, Nahid said it has been prepared inclusively, balancing representation across gender, minority groups, social classes, and professions. He clarified that any candidate facing legitimate complaints could have their nomination canceled.

Discussing the significance of the upcoming election, Nahid stressed, “This election is a public referendum. The main question is a simple yes or no, not which candidate or symbol people choose. We are participating not to gain power. We are not concerned with how many seats we might win. If our aim was to secure seats, we would have joined a coalition.”

Explaining the purpose behind forming NCP, the youth leader said, “If existing political parties had restructured their organizations after the popular uprising, responded to public demand for reform, and implemented internal changes reflecting their principles and ideology, NCP would not have been necessary. We waited seven months for parties to reach an understanding, but since they remained busy with internal conflicts and pursuing their agendas, NCP came into being.”

Criticizing other parties further, Nahid added, “The main agendas of the popular uprising were reform and justice. Ahead of this public referendum, no party is focusing on these issues. Instead, each party is campaigning on its internal agendas.”