The progressive political organization, The Move Forward Party (MFP), recently found itself questioned by the Election Commission (EC) over the symbolic incorporation of a hammer and sickle in its campaign animation.
This situation emerged in response to a grievance asserting that this imagery proposed an implicit challenge to the established constitutional monarchy.
In a social media communication made public on a Tuesday evening, the MFP declared that this question was forwarded to them through a formal correspondence from the EC.
The subject of the dispute was a campaign cartoon poster posted by the party on April 18th.
This cartoon was used to present their party-list parliamentary candidates hailing from the labour community, a strategic move before the impending general election scheduled for May 14th.
According to the contents of the EC letter, a concerned citizen asked for an investigation into whether the MFP harboured anti-constitutional monarchy sentiments, a perspective that breach constitutional stipulations.
The contentious hammer and sickle theme typically embodies the industrial and agricultural workforce and has been a notable emblem within the communist movement.
The EC expressed its curiosity over why the MFP chose to use the hammer and sickle imagery and the intended interpretation of this within the election campaign cartoon’s context.
In a clarification made on the same Tuesday night, the MFP clarified that the incorporation of the hammer and sickle in the election animation was intended to symbolize the representation of their party-list members coming from the labour class.
The MFP, that secured a majority of the parliamentary seats in the general election, also revealed that it was battling “lawfare”, a legal strategy aimed at preventing it from establishing a new government.
The party stated that the objection to its use of labour-related symbolism was part of this ongoing challenge, underscoring its commitment to represent all its constituents, including those from the labour sector.
