ISLAMABAD, June 22, 2015: The Punjab Assembly rejected a cut motion related to the Education Department that was jointly moved by the opposition parties on Monday, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

The House continued to witness low attendance of lawmakers, with 17 members (5%) present at the start of the sitting and 64 (17%) at the time of adjournment.

Twelve members participated in the budget debate that consumed nearly 45% of the sitting and was concluded by the Provincial Minister for School Education, Higher Education & Youth Affairs in his 27-minute speech.

Six other lawmakers discussed a cut motion related to the Police Department for 23% of the sitting’s duration. The motion would be further debated in next sitting on Tuesday.

Following are some key observations of the assembly business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Punjab Assembly met for four hours and 10 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1447 hours against the scheduled time of 1400 hours.
• 17 members (5%) were present at the start and 64 (17%) at the end of the sitting.
• A maximum of 109 (29%) members attended the proceedings.
• The Speaker chaired the sitting for three hours and six minutes.
• The remaining time was presided over by the Deputy Speaker.
• The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting.
• The Opposition Leader was present for 113 minutes.
• The Finance Minister attended nearly the entire sitting.
• The parliamentary leaders of JI and PPPP were present.
• Five minority members attended the proceedings.
• No member applied for the leave.

Representation and Responsiveness

• The House rejected a cut motion related to the Education Department that was jointly moved by the opposition parties.
• Twelve lawmakers – five belonging to PTI, three from PPPP, two from PML, one from JI and one independent member – participated in the budget debate for 113 minutes.
• The Provincial Minister for School Education, Higher Education & Youth Affairs concluded the debate in his 27-minute speech.
• Another cut motion related to the Police Department was discussed by six lawmakers – four from PTI and one each from JI and PPPP – for 58 minutes.

Order and Institutionalization

• The lawmakers raised two points of order that consumed two minutes of the sitting.
• The sitting also witnessed a 58-minute walkout by the opposition members (except those submitting cut motions) against unscheduled load shedding in the province.

Transparency

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

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This 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.