ISLAMABAD, Dec 19,2011 : The Sindh Assembly met for two hours and 47 minutes during the second sitting of the ongoing session. Low attendance of Members was observed during the sitting. Only 24 Members were present at the outset and 62 at the adjournment of the sitting.

The House adopted a Resolution regarding eradication of polio.

The Sindh Shops and Establishments (Security) Bill, 2010 was taken up and sent to the respective Standing Committee

Twenty-one Points of Order consumed 15 minutes of the sitting time but none of them attracted the Chair’s formal ruling. Unless the Chair gives a formal ruling on a Point of Order, it does not contribute to any Assembly output.

The Chief Minster did not attend the sitting. The parliamentary leaders of PPPP, MQM and PML (forward block) attended the proceedings.

Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Sindh Assembly met for two hours and 47 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1100 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1000 hours. The House proceedings started late by one hour.
• The Speaker presided over the sitting. The Deputy Speaker was also present.
• The Chief Minster and the Leader of the Opposition were not present.
• The Parliamentary Leaders of the PPPP, MQM, and PML (forward block) attended the sitting, while the leaders of the NPP, PMLF and PML were absent.
• A total of 24 Members (15% of total Membership) were present at the start, while 62 (36%) were present when the sitting was adjourned.
• Three minority Members were present during the sitting.
• Five Members applied for leave to be absent.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Ten questions listed for the Question Hour were put up and responded by relevant ministries.
• A total of 38 supplementary questions were raised during the sitting.

Output

• The Sindh Shops and Establishments (Security) Bill, 2010 was taken up and sent to respective Standing Committee. 
• A Resolution regarding eradication of polio was adopted by the House. The Motion was debated for 38 minutes 

Order and Institutionalization

• A total of 21 Points of Order were raised, consuming 15 minutes (9% of sitting time). However, none of them 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 Quorum was visibly lacking at various stages during the sitting. However, lack of Quorum was not pointed out by any of the Members of the Sindh Assembly.

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