ISLAMABAD, May 25, 2015: The Punjab Assembly witnessed thin attendance on Monday as the House passed a bill and adopted a resolution to condemn the killing of two lawyers in Daska, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

The sitting started one hour and 48 minutes behind the schedule with 68 members (18%) present at the start and 10 (3%) at the time of adjournment. The quorum was visibly lacking throughout the sitting but was not pointed out by any of the present members.

The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting, while the Opposition Leader attended 30% of the proceedings.

The House passed the Fatima Jinnah Medical University Lahore Bill 2015, while the University of Jhang Bill 2015 and the University of Sahiwal Bill 2015 were not taken up.

The Provincial Motor Vehicles (Second Amendment) Bill 2015, the Punjab Motor Vehicle Transaction Licensees Bill 2015, the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (Amendment) Bill 2015 and the Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Bill 2015 were introduced during the sitting.

Following are some key observations of the assembly business:

Members’ Participation in the House Proceedings

• The Punjab Assembly met for six hours and six minutes.
• The sitting started at 1548 hours against the scheduled time of 1400 hours.
• The House held a break for 41 minutes.
• The Speaker chaired the sitting for one hour and 45 minutes.
• The remaining time was presided over by the Deputy Speaker.
• 68 members (18%) were present at the start and 10 (3%) at the time of adjournment.
• A maximum of 102 (27%) members were present at one point of the sitting.
• The Chief Minister was not present
• The Opposition Leader was present for one hour and 48 minutes.
• Among parliamentary leaders, only the JI leader was present.
• Three out of eight minority members were present.
• No member applied for leave.

Output

• The House passed the Fatima Jinnah Medical University Lahore Bill 2015.
• The University of Jhang Bill 2015 and the University of Sahiwal Bill 2015 were not taken up.
• The Provincial Motor Vehicles (Second Amendment) Bill 2015, the Punjab Motor Vehicle Transaction Licensees Bill 2015, the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (Amendment) Bill 2015 and the Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Bill 2015 were introduced during the sitting
• The House adopted a resolution tabled by the Opposition Leader to condemn the killing of two lawyers allegedly by the police in Daska, Sialkot.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Eighteen lawmakers debated law and order in Punjab for 113 minutes.
• The House took up eight out of 20 questions appearing on the agenda.
• The lawmakers raised 16 supplementary questions during the sitting.
• The House took up an adjournment motion on closure of water supply in the suburbs of Mianwali district.
• A PML-N lawmaker’s privilege motion against an SHO in Mianwali was also taken up.
• The House took up one out of three calling attention notices during the sitting.

Order and Institutionalization

• The lawmakers raised 15 points of order that consumed ten minutes of the sitting.
• The sitting witnessed a six-minute walkout by the opposition against the Daska incident.
• The opposition also protested the incident for one minute within the House.

Transparency

• ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and the public.
• Information on members’ attendance was available to the observers and the public.

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The daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the Punjab Assembly proceedings conducted by PATTAN Development Organization – a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted.