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Dhaka, Jan 13 (UNB) - Terming the current political situation complex, renowned personalities of the country on Friday said the chance for getting rid of the political instability is slim unless the caretaker government issue is settled.

They said that finding an amicable solution to the caretaker government issue and formation of the new Election Commission are among the major challenges for the country ahead.

“Since the Prime Minister is firmly opposing the caretaker government issue, the chance for getting rid of the political instability is slim unless the issue is settled,” Prof Muzaffer Ahmad told UNB.

Former caretaker government adviser Dr Akbar Ali Khan also said, “The present problem is complex and there’s no alternative to continuous but constructive dialogue.”

He, however, said he does not hope that any dramatic outcome will come out from the just-concluded dialogue between President Zillur Rahman and political parties.

Akbar Ali Khan said he is not sure of what solution will come out from the dialogue regarding caretaker government issue but said, “Mutual and continuous dialogue among the political parties is the only way to reach a solution.”

Political scientist and former Dhaka University Professor Talukdar Maniruzzaman said the democratic process might get hampered in case of one-sided election and if the caretaker issue remains unresolved. “One-sided election will have no acceptability - neither at home nor abroad.”

The caretaker government system was scrapped on June 30 last year through the 15th amendment to the constitution.

On formation of new Election Commission, Muzaffer Ahmad said rules may be framed for appointing new Election Commissioner and Commissioners.

“We need to see the rules first... then it’ll be clear whether the political cloud will go or not,” the TIB Trustee Board member said.

On Thursday, the last day of dialogue, President Zillur Rahman proposed to initiate a move to enact a law to form an election commission and the ruling Awami League backed the idea.

Akbar Ali Khan hoped that the government would appoint the Election Commissioners without delay as the tenure of the current commission expires in early February.

On December, President Zillur Rahman started the dialogue with political parties seeking their opinions on the formation of a new election commission.

A total of 24 out of 38 registered political parties, including the main opposition BNP, took part in the dialogue. On the first day, President consulted senior leaders of Jatiya Party and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal while on the concluding day the President sat with Awami League.

In the dialogue, the opposition BNP also focused on restoration of the caretaker system of the government and formulation of new rules to appoint election commissioners.

Though the main agenda of the dialogue was the reconstitution of the EC, BNP urged President Zillur Rahman to take the initiative to restore the caretaker government system before the formation of a new Election Commission.

BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia in a statement during the talks with the President said the nation would not accept the formation of a new Election Commission without the restoration of the caretaker government system.”