Sindh PA Passes One Bill, Continues Pre-Budget Discussion

ISLAMABAD, April 26, 2016: The Provincial Assembly of Sindh passed one government bill and continued pre-budget discussion on Tuesday during 13th sitting of its ongoing 24th 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 23 minutes.
  • The sitting started at 1055 hours against the scheduled time of 1000 hours.
  • The Deputy Speaker presided over the sitting for two hours and 50 minutes while the rest of proceeding was chaired by a Member of Panel of Chairpersons.
  • The Speaker and the Chief Minister were absent.
  • The Opposition Leader attended the sitting for 76 minutes.
  • 32 lawmakers (20%) were present at the start and 54 (34%) at the end of the sitting.
  • The Parliamentary Leaders of PPPP, MQM, PML-N and PTI were present.
  • Three minority members were present.
  • Five members applied for leave.

Output

  • Tabled by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, the House unanimously passed the Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Bill 2016.
  • The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs introduced the Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2016.

Representation and Responsiveness

  • Sixteen lawmakers took part in Pre-Budget discussion that consumed three hours and 22 minutes of the proceeding.

Order and Institutionalization

  • The lawmakers spoke on five Points of Order consuming seven 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.