ISLAMABAD, March 2,2012 : The third sitting of Sindh Assembly’s 34th session, starting an hour and 20 minutes behind schedule, met for only 25 minutes before adjourning due to Senate elections on Thursday. Twenty-two MPAs were present when the House opened proceedings and 65 were there when the sitting was adjourned. Five Points of Order consumed eight minutes of the sitting time. However, none of the Points of Order attracted the Chair’s formal ruling. The Speaker chaired the entire sitting. The Chief Minister was present throughout the sitting while Leader of the Opposition was absent. The parliamentary leader of the ANP was present while those of PMLQ (F-B), PMLF, MQM, PML, NPP and PPPP did not attend the sitting.
The Assembly will meet again on Monday.
The following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:
Members’ Participation in House Proceedings
- The Sindh Assembly met for 25 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1120 hours instead of the scheduled starting time of 1000 hours. The proceedings were delayed by an hour and 20 minutes.
- The Speaker chaired the sitting.
- The Chief Minister was present throughout the sitting while Leader of the Opposition was absent.
- The parliamentary leader of the ANP was present while those of PMLQ (F-B), PMLF, MQM, PML, NPP and PPPP did not attend the sitting.
- Twenty-two Members (13% of the total Membership) were present at the start while 65 (39%) were there when the sitting was adjourned.
- Two minority Members were present during the proceedings.
Representation and Responsiveness
- There were no Questions on the Agenda of the House.
Order and Institutionalization
- Five Points of Order consumed eight minutes of the sitting time. However, none of the Points of Order 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 of the sitting. However, it was not pointed out by any of the MPAs.
The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Sindh Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), a member organization of FAFEN
