Sindh Assembly: 18 Lawmakers Debate Provincial Budget

ISLAMABAD, June 16, 2016: The Provincial Assembly of Sindh continued general discussion on the Provincial Budget for Financial Year 2016-17 on Thursday during 4th sitting of its 25th session, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

Following are some key observations of the House proceedings:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

  • The Sindh Assembly met for four hours and 25 minutes.
  • The sitting started at 1141 hours against the scheduled time of 1000 hours.
  • The Speaker presided over the sitting for two hours and 36 minutes; the Deputy Speaker presided for 53 minutes while the remaining proceeding (56 minutes) was chaired by a member of panel of Chairpersons.
  • The Chief Minister was absent.
  • The Opposition Leader attended the sitting for three hours and 55 minutes.
  • Forty seven lawmakers (28%) were present at the start and 56 (34%) at the end of the sitting.
  • The Parliamentary Leaders of PPPP, MQM, PML-F, PML-N, NPP and PTI were present.
  • Seven minority members were present.
  • One member applied for leave.

Representation and Responsiveness

  • Eighteen lawmakers took part in general discussion on Budget consuming three hours and 56 minutes of the proceeding.

Order and Institutionalization

  • Four Points of Order consumed six minutes of the proceeding.

Transparency

  • ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
  • The attendance of lawmakers was available to observers and media.

This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the Sindh Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) – a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted.