A Bangla daily has done a great job and at an opportune moment at that. It conducted a quick survey to feel the public pulse about the ongoing political deadlock between the two major political parties Awami League and BNP over the question of polls-time administrative arrangement and their opinion and suggestion about an exit from the stalemate. And it did the job at a critical juncture of national history when politics in the country has obviously lost its path and is groping in the dark to find the thread that would help it come out of the labyrinth. According to a summing up of the survey findings, overwhelming majority of the samples sought reconciliation and a negotiated settlement of the issues at stake.

The opinion poll was conducted among more than 18 thousand members of the public representing almost a whole spectrum of society in Dhaka and 17 other important cities. People favouring reconciliation through a fruitful dialogue ranged from 50 to 100 percent from city to city, with an average of more than 81 percent. No survey was conducted among the rural people. However, we do not see any reason to doubt the representative character of the final outcome.

The eminent citizens are also unequivocal in their agreement with the survey findings. Terming the opinion of the majority of the people as significant, they opined that there is no alternative to reconciliation between the two parties for the successful holding of a free, fair and acceptable-to-all election. They also called upon the stakeholders to come to an understanding on major questions through dialogue – all for the interests of the people, the country and democracy.

Actually, the entire nation wants to see an end to the political stalemate for which dialogue with open mind is and can be the only means. The country’s business communities repeatedly expressed their concern over the future of the national economy in the midst of persistent political turmoil and asked the two parties to sit for a dialogue. We also expressed similar opinion in these columns on several occasions. We once again underscore the need for a peaceful resolution of the deadlock at a negotiation table. It is expected that AL and BNP leaders would show due respect to public opinion.