ISLAMABAD, November 11, 2013: Starting an hour and 45 minutes behind schedule, the first and last sitting of the ninth session of the Sindh Assembly witnessed low attendance of Members as only 51 were present at the outset while 48 were there at the adjournment of the sitting, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily factsheet based on direct observation of the Sindh Assembly.

The one day session prorogued sine die after meeting four hours and 25 minutes.

The House unanimously adopted two Resolutions. The first Resolution was about “the Local Government Election schedule for Sindh, announced by Election Commission of Pakistan. The Resolution said that it is difficult to deliver free and fair election, and hastily elections will cast doubt on credibility of process as well as result”.

The other Resolution was “to condemn statement of Amir Jamaat-e-Islami Syed Munawar Hassan as he has hurt the feelings of people of Pakistan by insulting Shahadat of thousands of Pakistanis and soldiers of armed forces and law enforcement agencies”.

Twenty-one Points of Order were raised, which consumed 36 minutes of the sitting time. None of the Points of Order attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.

The following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Sindh Assembly met for four hours and 25 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1145 hours instead of the scheduled starting time of 1000 hours. The proceedings were delayed by an hour and 45 minutes.
• The Speaker chaired the sitting. The Deputy Speaker was also present.
• The Chief Minister attended the sitting for nine minutes.
• The parliamentary leaders of the PPPP, MQM, PMLN and PTI attended the sitting.
• Fifty-one (30% of 168) Members were present at the start while 48 (29%) were there at the adjournment. A maximum of 103 Members were observed at one point sitting of the sitting. 
• Six minority Members were present during the proceedings.  
• Three Members were applied for leave.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Four out of eight questions appearing on the agenda were taken up and responded to by the relevant ministries. Additionally, 28 supplementary questions were also asked.

Output

• The House unanimously adopted two Resolutions. The first Resolution was about “the Local Government Election schedule for Sindh, announced by Election Commission of Pakistan. The Resolution said that it is difficult to deliver free and fair election, and hastily elections will cast doubt on credibility of process as well as result”.

• The other Resolution was “to condemn statement of Amir Jamaat-e-Islami Syed Munawar Hassan as he has hurt the feelings of people of Pakistan by insulting shahadat of thousands of Pakistanis and soldiers of armed forces and law enforcement agencies”.

Order and Institutionalization

• Twenty-one Points of Order were raised, which consumed 36 minutes of the sitting time. None of the Points of Order attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.
• There were no instances of protests, boycotts or walkouts during the sitting.

 Transparency

• Orders of the Day were available to Legislators, observers and others.
• Information on Members’ attendance was unavailable to observers and the public.

The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Sindh Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), a member organization of FAFEN