Editorial
Election drama must end
Accommodation is the need of the hour
BY the time this editorial appears in print, we expect that the issues centering on the holding of the December general elections will have been resolved to the satisfaction of the political parties and the caretaker government. It is our hope that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party will have decided on a course of action that will take account of the long-term future of Bangladesh's democracy. We have always believed that a principle of give and take should take centre stage in politics. A spirit of mutual accommodation should prevail in order for the national interest to triumph.
We reiterate today our conviction that we have always advocated an election in which all political parties can take part and one that will produce credible results. In doing so, we only echo the feelings of the people of the country. These feelings, let us add, have always been robustly oriented to the holding of a credible and purposeful election participated by all parties. Let it be made clear that there is simply no scope for a misreading of the public mind because citizens are today fully disposed to elections and a return to democratic government. There can, therefore, be no reason for any political group or party to hold the elections hostage to any unreasonable demands at this crucial point when the nation is on the threshold of a new beginning. Moreover, it is our belief that a good deal of room yet exists for all the sides to the issue --- the political parties and the government --- to bridge the differences that yet prevail around the elections.
Inasmuch as we are able to understand, there is at this stage yet a likelihood of the elections being deferred to 28 December so that all parties can go wholeheartedly into the polling. Such a possibility, if it comes to pass, will certainly provide a way out of the imbroglio for all sides. We expect a positive attitude to such a possibility from all the parties. However, we also would like to make it clear that in case of a deferment of the polling, the people must be reassured that no new demands will be made and no more questions will be raised that might further complicate the holding of the elections. The political parties owe it to themselves and the nation to come forward with such a commitment. Such reassurance on the part of the parties surely will square up with the demands of the times.
If a consensus on December 28 as the day of election is agreed upon by all sides, then the government should set a specific date for withdrawal of emergency. We think the day following last date of withdrawal of nomination could be that date. Political parties will, we hope and believe, ensure peaceful conduct of campaign, and such a pledge from them will encourage the CTG to withdraw emergency.
All in all, this tense drama on election must end constructively.
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