What the people want is an election that can be held in a free and fair environment. We are afraid such a condition hardly exists at the present moment. Let us be very clear, there are three essential conditions that will have to be ensured for holding fair elections. First, there must be an Election Commission headed by a chief election commissioner both of whose credibility and credentials must be aboveboard and both must have public acceptability. Second, the flawed voter list, on which there are plenty of reservations, must be rectified. Third, reform in election financing must be in place before the election is held.

As for the chief of the caretaker government (CTG) we are constrained to say that the root cause of the dispute lies in the government's extending the retirement age of the judges, an action which the opposition saw as being motivated. It is a shame that the government failed to foresee the possible backlash of such an action given the suspicion-ridden political culture in our country.

The opposition perhaps needs to show some sagacity in regard to a person whose past association with BNP might not weigh too heavily on their thinking so as to reject him out of hand.

The long and short of it is that it boils down to the two parties to approach the situation in the most open-minded manner with a mood to compromise. In this regard the onus must lie on the ruling party to rise to the occasion. If that happens it would be rather injudicious for the opposition not to follow suit.