ISLAMABAD, June 13, 2014: Twenty-four legislators took part in the budget debate during the seventh sitting of the 12th session of National Assembly on Friday, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet.
Starting 14 minutes behind schedule, the Lower House met for seven hours and 10 minutes and took 81-mintue break.
Nine members of PML-N, as well as four each of PPPP, PTI and MQM, two of JUI-F and one JI lawmaker took part in the budget debate that continued for five hours and 31 minutes.
The Speaker presided over the sitting for an hour and six minutes while the Deputy Speaker chaired the proceedings for an hour and 59 minutes. A member of panel of chairpersons chaired the sitting for two hours and 44 minutes.
Following are some key observations of the House proceedings:
Members’ Participation in the House Proceedings:
- The National Assembly met for seven hours and 10 minutes.
- The House had a prayer break of 81 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1014 hours against the scheduled time of 1000 hours, witnessing a delay of 14 minutes.
- The Speaker presided over the sitting for an hour and six minutes while the Deputy Speaker chaired the proceedings for an hour and 59 minutes. A member of panel of chairpersons presided over the sitting for two hours and 44 minutes.
- The Prime Minister did not attend the sitting while the Leader of the Opposition was present for two hours and 54 minutes.
- The parliamentary leaders of JI, APML, PkMAP, MQM, QWP and AMLP attended the sitting.
- Forty-one lawmakers were present at the outset while 34 at the adjournment of the sitting. A maximum of 176 members were observed to be present at one point during the sitting.
- Seven minority members attended the sitting.
- Five members applied for leave.
Representation and Responsiveness
- Twenty-four legislators took part in the budget debate that continued for five hours and 31 minutes.
- Nine PML-N members, four each of PPPP, PTI and MQM, two of JUI-F and one JI lawmaker took part in the budget debate.
Order and Institutionalization
- Lawmakers raised five points of order consuming six minutes of the proceedings.
- There were no incidents of protests, walkouts and boycotts.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and others.
- Information on members’ attendance was not available to 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 National Assembly proceedings conducted by Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI); a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions excepted
