On the government side, some ministers are on the record saying that no constitutional issue, by which they mean caretaker government reform, is on the table for discussion. To the government, our advice would be, rather than set conditions for what can and cannot be discussed that might queer the pitch, it too should keep an open mind and avoid unhelpful posturing.

It seems to us that the opposition demand can be neatly split into its two component parts. On the first one, election reform, we are absolutely behind the call. Indeed, the government has even acknowledged the need for full reform in order to ensure that the elections are free and fair. So this is an issue that we are confident can be settled without undue difficulty.

The second issue, caretaker government reform, is more complicated. However, we will merely note here that some of the jurists believe that the opposition's demands could largely be accommodated without taking recourse to amending the existing law. Thus there should be no barrier to at least discussing how compromise might be reached that would be acceptable to both sides.

Clearly, returning to parliament is the first step and not the last, and much remains to be seen in terms of how both opposition and government benches conduct themselves upon the former's return. However, the fact that the door is open for discussion and debate is to our mind a welcome development, and we urge both sides to pursue negotiation with the interests of the nation as a whole upper-most in mind and with an aim to reach accord and spare the country unnecessary civil strife.