ISLAMABAD, August 27, 2013: On the private members day, the eleventh sitting of fourth session of Punjab Assembly was marked by low attendance as the House adopted three resolutions.

Only 24 members were present at the start and 73 at the end of the proceedings. The House adopted three of the four private members’ resolutions on the agenda. The resolutions were adopted on vaccination against hepatitis for children under the age of five, call for local government elections in cantonment areas, and provision of shelter and vocational training for beggars. The House rejected a resolution to rename the Neela Gumbad Road as Leitner Road.

Five questions were directed to the Ministry for Special Education and responded by relevant Minister.

The Speaker chaired the entire sitting whereas the Deputy Speaker did not attend the sitting.

Following are some key observations of the House proceedings:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Punjab Assembly met for two hours and 15 minutes.
• The sitting started an hour and 18 minutes late at 1118 hours instead of the scheduled start time of 1000 hours.
• A total of 24 Members were present at the outset of the sitting and 73 at the end. A maximum of 110 Members were present at one point of sitting.
• The Speaker chaired the entire sitting while the Deputy Speaker was not present.
• The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting. The Leader of Opposition was present for two hours and 13 minutes of the proceedings.
• The Parliamentary Leaders of PPPP and JI were present.
• No Member applied for leave.
• Three Minority Members attended the sitting.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Five out of six starred questions about the Ministry of Special Education on the orders of day were taken up and answered by the relevant minister. Members asked 19 supplementary questions additionally.
• Four Resolutions – two by PML-N and one each by PTI and PPPP legislators – were tabled during the sitting. The House adopted three resolutions. The resolutions were adopted on vaccination against hepatitis for children under the age of five, call for local government elections in cantonment areas and provision of shelter and vocational training for beggars. The House rejected a resolution to rename the Neela Gumbad Road as Leitner Road.

Order and Institutionalization

• Five points of orders consumed three minutes of the proceedings.
• No instances of protests/boycotts/walkouts were observed.

Transparency

• Orders of the Day was available to the legislators, observers and others.
• Information on members’ attendance was not available to the observers and the public.  

The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Punjab Assembly proceedings conducted by PATTAN, a member organization of FAFEN