Speaking at the BBC Bangladesh Sanglap in Habiganj, AL leader Abdus Shahid and BNP leader Abu Laice Mohammad Mubin Chowdhury also said the Election Commission (EC) should not take 18-month's time to prepare the voter list.

The six-month timeframe proposed by the army is enough to prepare a flawless voter list, they observed and called on the EC to cooperate with the army in this regard so that the next election is held as early as possible.

Replying to a question, Mubin Chowdhury, former BNP lawmaker from Habiganj-3, said the political parties must undergo reforms to stop giving nominations in exchange for a handsome amount of money.

Abdus Shahid, former AL lawmaker from Moulavibazar-4 and opposition chief whip, said the political parties should not be forced to carry out reforms. Rather, they should do this on their own initiative, he added.

Dr Kabir Hossain Chowdhury, vice-chancellor of Sylhet Metropolitan University, and Shipa Hafiza, head of Human Resource Department of BRAC, also took part in the Sanglap as panelists.

BBC Bangla Service in conjunction with the BBC World Service Trust jointly organised the Sanglap held at the Shah AMS Kibria Auditorium. Masud Hasan Khan of BBC moderated the event.

Dr Kabir said a radical change would have to be brought to the party leadership through reforms and democratic process.

Shipa Hafiza said they want reforms in political parties.

Replying to a question, BNP leader Mubin observed that an unelected government should not remain in power for an indefinite period in a democratic country.

AL leader Abdus Shahid said the state of emergency should be lifted as early as possible in order to hand over power to an elected government.

The BNP leader, however, said the caretaker government should not lift the state of emergency until it disposes of graft cases against the 'corrupt politicians'.

All the panellists observed that there is a lack of coordination on the part of the caretaker government. As a result, it could not properly implement its various tasks, including controlling the price hike of essentials, they added.