National Assembly Adjourned due to Lack of Quorum

ISLAMABAD, December 8, 2017: The National Assembly was adjourned on Friday due to lack of quorum amidst absence of the Leaders of the House and the Opposition, observes Free and Fair Election Network in its Daily Factsheet.

Following are key observations of the proceedings during second sitting of the 50th session:

Members’ Participation

  • The National Assembly met for an hour and 25 minutes.
  • The sitting started at 1038 hours against the scheduled time of 1030 hours.
  • The Speaker presided over the sitting for 57 minutes while the Deputy Speaker chaired the rest of the proceedings.
  • The Leader of the House (Prime Minister) and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
  • As many as 20 (6%) lawmakers were present at the outset and 57 (17%) at the adjournment of the sitting.
  • The parliamentary leaders of PkMAP, JI and ANP attended the sitting.
  • Four minority lawmakers were present.

Output

  • The House did not take up the legislative business and the committee reports appearing on the Orders of the Day.

Representation and Responsiveness

  • As many as seven out of 70 Starred Questions were taken up for answers during the Question Hour. The lawmakers asked 16 supplementary questions as well.
  • The House took up one out of two Calling Attention Notices (CANs). The addressed notice related to the eviction of the employees of National Assembly and Senate Secretariats from government residential accommodation.
  • The House did not take up the Motion of Thanks to the President for his Address to the Parliament.

Order and Institutionalization

  • The lawmakers did not raise any Point of Order.
  • A female lawmaker of PPPP pointed out the quorum at 1201 hours that led to the adjournment of the sitting till Monday evening.

Transparency

  • ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
  • Information on Members’ attendance is available on the National Assembly website

This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the National Assembly’s proceedings, conducted by the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN). Errors and omissions are excepted