Electoral symbol

An electoral symbol is a standardised symbol allocated to an independent candidate or political party by a country's election commission for use in election ballots.

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Usage

Symbols are used by parties in their campaigning, and printed on ballot papers where a voter must make a mark to vote for the associated party. One of their purposes is to facilitate voting by illiterate people, who cannot read candidates' names on ballot papers.[1]

This may include:

  • easily identifiable real-world creatures, objects, or items such as the head of an elephant (Cambodian Democratic Party), a hand (Indian National Congress), an arrow (Pakistan People's Party) or a sailboat (Bangladesh Awami League).
  • numbers, such as the two-digit electoral numbers in Brazil, which can be easily recognized by illiterate voters.
  • a letter or small group of letters.
    • One, two, three or four Hebrew letters and additional symbols of one, two, three or four Arabic symbols is used in Israel (this also facilitates voters whose knowledge of Hebrew or Arabic, the two official languages, is limited).[2]
    • Danish and Icelandic parties are identified by a singular "party letter", which may or may not be the initial letter of the party's name.
  • unique party logos or flags.

Symbols of the national parties of India

In India, political parties are identified on ballot papers by their name and a pictorial symbol. The pictorial symbol helps the large percent of illiterate voters to identify the party they want to vote for. The party symbols are allocated by the Election Commission of India. A symbol assigned to a party designated as a national party can not be used by other parties in the country. A symbol assigned to a state party in one state can be allocated to different state party in another state.[3]

Mural in Kerala showing the hand of the Indian National Congress
Communist hammer and sickle in Kerala
SymbolFlagMeaningParty
Indian lotus.
The lotus symbolizes the party's link to Hinduism. It is also the national flower of India.		Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
Right hand with its palm side facing front.
The hand is symbolic of strength, energy and unity.		Indian National Congress (INC)
The grass and the twin flowers.
The simple flowers used in the symbol indicates that the AITC is in support of those sections of the society which feel insignificant and are oppressed.		All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)
Elephant.
The elephant represents the strength of the Bahujan community (OBC, SC, ST & religious/linguistic/ethnic minorities).		Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
Ears of corn and sickle.
It depicts that the CPI is a party of the peasants, of farmers, or labourers, who work in the fields and earn a living and also depicts the conditions of the working class.		Communist Party of India (CPI)
Hammer, sickle and a star.
The symbol of the hammer and sickle represents proletarian solidarity of agricultural and industrial labourers, and is also replicated in logos and flags by other communist parties worldwide.		Communist Party of India (CPI-M)
Analog clock that reads 10:10.
It denotes that the party will keep fighting for its principles regardless of time, no matter how difficult the situation.		Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)
Book.
It denotes that only literacy and education can empower the weaker sections of society.		National People's Party (NPP)

See also

References
  1. With Pakistan Vote Looming, Ballot Symbols Prove A Tricky Topic Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, 29 November 2012
  2. "Israeli Election Day is still surprisingly low-tech". 8 April 2019.
  3. Michael Gallagher; Paul Mitchell (15 September 2005). The Politics of Electoral Systems. OUP Oxford. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-19-153151-4.


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