Low interest of the members in participation and addressing agenda items was observed in the sixth session of the National Assembly, says Free and Fair Election Network in its session report based on the direct observation of the proceedings of the Lower House.

The sixth session of the National Assembly continued the trend of fifth session of leaving more than half of the agenda unaddressed, low attendance of members, absence of Prime Minister and no passage of legislation.

During the sixth session, 61% of the agenda items on the Orders of the Day were left unaddressed and only 34% of the lawmakers took part in submitting and debating agenda or both. The House did not take up one matter of public importance, seven pieces of legislation, five motions under Rule 259, three resolutions and two calling attention notices. More than half of the session’s time (58%) was consumed in debating the motion under Rule 259 on recent drone attacks in North Waziristan Agency.

Members’ attendance remained low as on average 66 members were counted at the commencement and 77 at the adjournment of sitting. Half of the minority members (five) attended the session on average.

Although quorum was found lacking at many stages in the session, it was pointed out once by a PPPP member.

However, on the headcount of members, quorum was found complete and the proceedings continued without hindrance.

The repeating trend of the Prime Minister’s absence from the House continued. The House also witnessed a walkout by the opposition, except the MQM, over the absence of the Prime Minister. The Leader of the Opposition remained present for 75% of the total session time. The Speaker remained in the chair for 67% of the total session time whereas the Deputy Speaker presided over 26% of the proceedings.

Spanning from November 4 to 12, 2013, the seven-sitting session witnessed an average delay of 49 minutes in commencement of proceedings. The House remained in session for 20 hours and 17 minutes and took three prayer breaks consuming an hour and 20 minutes.

Three resolutions, including two seeking postponement of local government elections, were adopted in the House. The resolutions on the local government (LG) demanded of the “Election Commission of Pakistan to fix a practical date after ensuring that all legal and administrative arrangements are in place in the entire country for free and fair elections.”

Just like the previous session, the House did not pass a single bill during the entire session and the number of introduced bills – both government and private – was also decreased compared to the last session. Five bills – two government and three private members – were introduced and sent to the relevant standing committees for further consideration.

Three ordinances on counter terrorism and conferring more powers on investigative agencies were laid before the House. These were the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013 (No. 7 of 2013), the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013 (No. 8 of 2013) and the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance (No. 9 of 2013).

The session’s fifth sitting was marked by two walkouts staged by the opposition parties, excluding the MQM. The opposition members walked out of the House twice for 41 and 13 minutes, respectively, to protest against the ministerial absence, especially the Prime Minister.

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