ISLAMABAD, August 29, 2014: Starting 35 minutes behind the schedule, the National Assembly continued debate on political situation in the country during the 17th sitting of 14th session on Friday, says the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).
Five lawmakers – two from PML-N and one each belonging to PPPP, PkMAP and APML– took part in the debate on Motion under Rule 259 regarding the prevailing political situation in the country for an hour and 28 minutes.
The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition addressed the House for seven minutes and 11 minutes, respectively. The Federal Minister for Interior also briefed the National Assembly about the political situation for 45 minutes.
Following are some key observations of the House proceedings:
Members’ Participation in the House Proceedings:
- The National Assembly met for an hour and 37 minutes.
- The sitting began at 1135 hours against the scheduled time of 1100 hours witnessing a delay of 35 minutes.
- The Speaker chaired the entire sitting. The Deputy Speaker was also present.
- The Prime Minister attended the sitting for 72 minutes while the Leader of the Opposition was present for 71 minutes.
- Fifty-seven lawmakers (17% of the total membership) were present at the outset while 95 (28%) at the adjournment of the sitting. A maximum of 128 members (37%) were observed to be present at one point during the sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of APML, PkMAP, PML-Z, QWP, ANP and JI attended the sitting.
- Two minority members attended the sitting.
- Eleven lawmakers applied for leave.
Representation and Responsiveness
- Five lawmakers – two from PML-N and one each belonging to PPPP, PkMAP and APML– took part in the debate on Motion under Rule 259 regarding prevailing political situation in the country for an hour and 28 minutes.
Order and Institutionalization
- There were no instances of protests, boycotts or walkouts.
- No Points of Order were raised by any of the lawmaker.
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.
- The Quorum was visibly lacking at various stages of the sitting. However, it was not pointed out by any of the legislators.
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
