"The political personalities do not have the least sense of morality in most cases. And those who try to restore their commitment of impartiality, face tremendous pressure," he said yesterday while addressing the final programme of the BDF National Debate Championship as the chief guest. The programme was held at the BIAM auditorium in the city.

The country's politics has become so degraded that the parties here take the opponents as enemies rather than as competitors, he observed.

Sami also regretted the political leanings of the important institutions and said, "Caretaker government, election commission, or whatever bodies are there for holding election, must remain impartial for a credible poll." He urged the bodies concerned to regain the trust of the people, otherwise the effort to ensure democracy will be foiled.

Concluding, Sami lauded the champion and the runner up teams, Chittagong Government Girls' High School and Viqarunnisa Girls' High School, who debated on "The caretaker government is not capable of holding a free and fair election, only an independent and powerful election commission is."

Professor Dr Syed Manjurul Islam, who acted as the Speaker of the parliamentary type debate, expressed his hope that the political parties will reach a consensus and put an end to the prevailing crisis. He urged the lawmakers of the country to follow the elegant language the young debaters used at the debate and their healthy arguments.

The USAID, Academy for Educational Development (AED), Management and Resources Development Initiative (MRDI) and Bangladesh Debate Federation jointly organised the debate on 'free and fair election for democracy in the eyes of future generation'. Three hundred and 50 students from 110 schools across the country participated in the programme.