ISLAMABAD, January 13, 2014: Meeting for 121 minutes, the first sitting of the 7^th session of the Balochistan Assembly witnessed the passage of Shair-e-Mother Infant Nutrition Protection and Promotion Bill 2014, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet.

As many as 40 MPAs were present at the outset, while 36 were there at the adjournment of the sitting.  The House also passed amendments in the Rules of Business of the Balochistan Assembly.

The Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition attended the entire sitting.

Following are some key observations of the proceedings:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Balochistan Assembly met for 121 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1649 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1600 hours, witnessing a delay of 49 minutes.
• Forty Members were present at the outset of the sitting while 36 were there at the adjournment.
• The Speaker chaired the sitting.
• The Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition attended the entire sitting.
• The parliamentary leaders of PML, ANP, NP and JUI were present.
• Five Members applied for leave.
• Two minority members attended the sitting.

Output

• The Shair-e-Mother Infant Nutrition Protection and Promotion Bill 2014 was passed by the House.
• The House also passed amendments in the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Balochistan Assembly.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Three out of six starred questions (requiring oral reply) appearing on the agenda were taken up and responded to by the relevant Ministers.

Order and Institutionalization

• Members raised seven Points of Order which consumed 37 minutes of the proceedings.
• There were no instances of protests, walkouts or boycotts.

Transparency

• Orders of the Day was available to the legislators, observers and others.
• Information on legislators’ attendance was not available to the observers and the public.

The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Balochistan Assembly proceedings conducted by Center for Peace and Development (CPD), a Member organization of FAFEN.