ISLAMABAD, February 11, 2016: The Punjab Assembly left half of its agenda unaddressed on Thursday during tenth sitting of its 19th session, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).
Following are some key observations of the House proceeding:
Members’ Participation in House Proceedings
- The Punjab Assembly met for two hours and 14 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1245 hours against the scheduled time 1000 hours.
- The Deputy Speaker presided over the entire sitting due to absence of the Speaker.
- The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting.
- The Leader of the Opposition attended the sitting for 13 minutes.
- 70 MPAs (18%) were present at outset and 27 (7%) at adjournment of the sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of JI and PPPP were present.
- Four minority members were present.
Output
- The House passed the Punjab Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (Amendment) Bill 2015. Four Opposition lawmakers and the Law Minister debated the bill for 18 minutes.
- The House did not take up another government bill and proposed amendments in the Rules of Procedure.
Representation and Responsiveness
- The government orally responded to 11 out of 33 starred questions appearing on agenda while three questions were disposed of due to absence of relevant members. The lawmakers also asked 26 supplementary questions. The House did not take up rest of the questions due to lack of time.
- The Parliamentary Secretary for Law & Parliamentary Affairs answered an adjournment motion regarding the poor conditions of Civil Hospital Gujranwala.
- The Provincial Law Minister replied to a Calling Attention Notice (CAN) submitted by a PTI lawmaker regarding a robbery incident. The House could not take up another CAN due to absence of relevant lawmaker.
- The Provincial Agriculture Minister concluded the discussion on agricultural issues and grievances of sugar-cane growers. He spoke for 26 minutes.
Order and Institutionalization
- The sole member belonging to JI staged walkout against the utilization of Bahawalpur’s development funds for Orange Train project. He left at 1352 hours and returned to the House at 1421 hours.
- The House took a privilege motion of a lawmaker belonging to PML-N regarding misleading answer to a question asked by him. The motion was referred to the relevant standing committee.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
- The attendance of lawmakers was available to the media and observers.
To download the factsheet, click here
The 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 regretted.
