ISLAMABAD, November 7, 2013: Starting two hours and 15 minutes late, the 9th sitting of the ongoing Senate’s session witnessed low attendance of Senators, says Free and Fair Election Network in its Daily Factsheet based on direct observation of the Senate on Thursday.
As many as 18 Senators were present at the outset of the sitting while 22 were there at the adjournment. Since the Senate Secretariat does not make public the attendance record of Senators, FAFEN observers conduct a headcount at the start and end of the sitting.
Meeting for an hour and 35 minutes, the Senate left most of the agenda items appearing on the Orders of the Day unaddressed. Only two out of 10 Starred Questions were taken up and responded to by the relevant ministry.
The entire Opposition, with the exception of MQM, continued their boycott of the proceedings over the alleged misconduct of the Federal Minister for Interior.
The Leader of the House attended the entire sitting while his counterpart, the Leader of the Opposition, remained absent. Following are some key observations of the House proceedings:
Members’ Participation in House Proceedings
- The Senate met for an hour and 35 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1245 hours against the scheduled time of 1030 hours, witnessing a delay of two hours and 15 minutes.
- A Member of Panel of Chairpersons chaired the sitting. The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman did not attend the sitting.
- The Leader of the House attended the entire proceedings while the Leader of the Opposition was absent.
- Eighteen Senators were present at the outset of the sitting, while 22 were there at the adjournment.
- The parliamentary leaders of JUI-F, MQM, ANP and PML-F attended the sitting.
- Two Minority Senators attended the sitting.
Representation and Responsiveness
- Two out of 10 Starred Questions (requiring oral replies) appearing on the agenda were taken up by the House. Additionally, eight supplementary questions were asked.
- A Motion under Rule 60 and a Calling Attention Notice appearing on the Orders of the Day were left unaddressed. Additionally, a report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan was not laid.
Order and Institutionalization
- Senators spoke on five Points of Order consuming 42 minutes of the sitting time. None of the Points of Order attracted the Chair’s formal ruling. Unless the Chair gives a formal ruling on a Point of Order it does not lead to any assembly output.
- The entire Opposition, with the exception of MQM, continued their boycott of the proceedings over the alleged misconduct of the Federal Minister for Interior.
Transparency
- Orders of the Day were available to the legislators, observers and others.
- Information on Senators’ attendance was not available to the observers and the public.
This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of FAFEN and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. This Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of the Senate proceedings conducted by PATTAN Development Organization; a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions excepted
