ISLAMABAD, February 20,2012: Starting 58 minutes behind schedule, the third sitting of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly continued to witness low attendance by Members. Only 40 were present at the start and 17 when the sitting was adjourned.

The lack of Quorum was pointed out by an Independent Member that prompted the adjournment of the sitting.

All 10 questions listed for the Question Hour were put up and responded by relevant ministries.

The Chief Minster and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.  The parliamentary leaders of the PPPS and PML were present.

Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Assembly met for an hour and 49 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1658 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1600 hours. The House proceedings started late by 58 minutes.
• The Speaker presided over the sitting.
• The Chief Minster and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
• The parliamentary leaders of the PPPS and PML were attended the sitting, while the leaders of the PMLN and PPPP were absent.
• A total of 40 Members (32% of total Membership – 125) were present at the start, while 17 (14%) were present when the sitting was adjourned.
• The House took a 29-minute break for prayers.
• Fourteen Members applied for leave to be absent. 

Representation and Responsiveness

• All 10 questions listed for the Question Hour were put up and responded by relevant ministries.
• Eleven supplementary questions were raised during the sitting.
• Two Calling Attention Notices were taken up by the House. 

Output

• No Bills appeared on the List of Business. 

 Order and Institutionalization

• One Point of Order was raised that consumed 10 minutes of the sitting time.
• There were no instances of protests, boycotts or walkouts during the sitting.

Transparency

• List of Business was 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 during the sitting. The lack of Quorum was pointed out by an Independent Member, which prompted the adjournment of the sitting.

The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly proceedings conducted by PAIMAN Alumni Trust, a member organization of FAFEN