The team of advisers to the caretaker government, formed for talks with the political parties, may sit today to resolve the latest crisis that emerged as Election Commissioner SM Zakaria rejected the proposal to go on leave as per the package deal.(The Daily Star)

The advisers informally discussed the matter among themselves to find ways to bring all the parties in the January 23 election, sources said.

The process of appointing a new election commissioner has also been halted due to the SM Zakaria issue, said a source.

Adviser Sultana Kamal yesterday told a private television channel that she is hopeful of resolving the crisis within a couple of days.

"The Election Commission is an independent body and we have no jurisdiction to interfere there. But people in the Election Commission have got messages from different quarters and now it is their turn to take decision," she told the channel.

At a press conference yesterday, the 14-party alliance leaders said it is the advisers' responsibility to implement the entire package deal on which both of the two major political alliances agreed.

The 14-party leaders threw a 24-hour ultimatum asking the caretaker government to implement all the proposals described in the package. The 14-party and its allies declared that they would participate in the election only after implementation of all the proposals in the package deal, which they said is essential to bring a level playing field for a free and fair election.

But BNP and its allies opposed the proposal of sending SM Zakaria on leave and President and Chief Adviser Iajuddin Ahmed echoed the same voice.