In a significant breakthrough in the efforts to resolve the long-drawn-out political crisis, they have already asked the EC to rearrange the election schedule and correct the voter list so that all parties take part in the polls.

The advisers said they did not take the decisions under any pressure from any quarters.

BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan said they will comment on the advisers' decisions and measures after hearing about those formally.

On the other hand, the Awami League (AL) led 14-party combine at an emergency meeting last night suspended its blockade programmes. However, it neither rejected nor accepted the package of proposals set forth by the advisers on Sunday. It has decided to observe the implementation of the advisory council's decisions.

The decisions came at an hours-long meeting of the advisory council with President and Chief Adviser Iajuddin Ahmed in the chair at the Bangabhaban.

The president/chief adviser himself will initiate the move to send two controversial election commissioners -- SM Zakaria and Modabbir Hossain Chowdhury -- on leave until the next parliamentary election is over, said meeting sources.

The president will appoint one or two new election commissioners once the two election commissioners are on leave. If any of the new election commissioners happen to be senior to the acting CEC, he will replace Justice Mahfuzur Rahman, the sources added.

Against this backdrop, two advisers -- Justice Fazlul Huq and M Azizul Huq -- last night went to the residence of Justice Tafazzel Islam, an Appellate Division judge of the Supreme Court, amidst speculation from different quarters about his becoming the acting CEC.

None of the advisers, however, made any comment regarding the speculation.

“It was just a courtesy call,” M Azizul Huq said, adding that Justice Tafazzel was his classmate in the university.

The advisers at the meeting expressed concern over allegations of a huge number of fake voters on the updated voter list and asked the EC Secretariat to come up with ways to correct the mistakes on the list, sources said.

They will sit today again to review the developments following their decisions.

Acting CEC Justice Mahfuzur Rahman, who attended the advisers' meeting on special invitation, returned to the EC Secretariat late in the evening and sat with the election commissioners to discuss how to rearrange the polls schedule.

At the meeting, the EC decided to take steps to correct the voter list in line with the suggestions of the caretaker government. But the EC officials observed that it might be difficult to initiate extensive measures to that end as the commission has already announced the schedule meaning restriction of the field level election officers' authority that otherwise could have made a huge difference in the correction job.

Earlier, coming out of the advisers' meeting, Information Adviser Mahbubul Alam told the media that they hope the decisions will help create a congenial atmosphere before the election and life will return to normalcy soon.

About changes in the EC, he said, "We will request one or two election commissioners to take leave of absence like CEC MA Aziz. We hope they will act on our request."

On transfer of the secretaries of home, establishment and LGRD ministries, he said they have ordered for transfer of seven to eight high level secretaries. "We hope it will have some effect. You will know about it in detail once a gazette notification is published," he added.

About correction of the updated voter list, Mahbubul said they have requested the EC for a complete revision and correction of the list with a view to making it acceptable to all.

He said the meeting also discussed the possibility of changing the polls timetable announced on November 27. But it noted that it rests with the EC to take any decision in this regard.

ADVISERS OPTIMISTIC
The council of advisers expressed high hopes that the decisions on issues ranging from reconstitution of the EC to re-arrangement of the election schedule will break the deadlock.

They said they now hope the agitating political parties will withdraw the non-stop blockade, trusting in the initiative to end the stalemate prevailing since President Iajuddin Ahmed took over as the chief adviser on October 29.

Another adviser Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury said the decisions were not taken under pressure from a particular political party.

"At one point, we felt that things getting stagnant and there was a need for a major initiative and that's when the president had invited them to sit," he added.

"This is not an extension of any other programme, rather a part of the package of proposals that we had offered earlier. The timing of the package decision was a coincidence and had nothing to do with the timing of their (14-party alliance) programmes," added Mashhud.

"It is up to them (political parties) to interpret it in whatever way they want," he said, adding, "We hope that any programme that hampers public life will be stopped."

The council of advisers at a meeting on Friday decided to hold dialogue with the top leaders of the two major political alliances to resolve the political crisis. Accordingly, the chief adviser and 10 advisers held talks with Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina on Saturday night.

Then on Sunday they held a marathon meeting and sent three advisers to the two top leaders with the package of proposals.

Yesterday's breakthrough followed the discussions with the opposing alliances.

Replying to a query, the information adviser said the council of advisers is also taking into account the political parties' suggestions regarding reconstitution of the EC.