ISLAMABAD, June 6, 2012: Starting an hour and 25 minutes behind schedule, the second sitting of Punjab Assembly’s 38^th session left 13 Bills appearing on the Orders of the Day unaddressed.

The sitting witnessed low attendance with only 14 legislators present at the outset and 47 when it was adjourned. The Punjab Assembly is the largest legislature in Pakistan with a current total membership of 369.

Additionally the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition along with all the parliamentary leaders did not attend the sitting.

Ten out of 27 questions appearing on the Agenda were taken up and responded by the relevant ministries. Additionally, 26 Supplementary questions were also asked.

The Quorum, visibly lacking at various stages of the sitting, was not pointed out by any of the legislators.

Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Punjab Assembly met for two hours.
• The sitting started at 1125 hours instead of the scheduled starting time of 1000 hours. The proceedings started an hour and 25 minutes late.
• The Speaker chaired the sitting for an hour and 15 minutes while the remaining time was presided over by a Member of Panel of Chairpersons.
• The Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
• None of the parliamentary leaders attended the sitting.
• A total of 14 Members (4% of the total Membership of 369) were present at the start while 47 (13%) were there when the sitting was adjourned.
• Two minority Members were present.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Ten out of 27 questions appearing on the Agenda were taken up and responded by the relevant ministries.
• Additionally, 26 Supplementary questions were also asked.

Output

• A total of 13 Bills appearing on the Orders of the Day were not taken up by the House.

Order and Institutionalization

• Twelve Points of Order consumed 28 minutes of the sitting time. None of the Points of Order raised attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.
• There were no instances of protests, boycotts or walkouts.

Transparency

• Orders of the Day were available to legislators, observers and others.
• Information on Members’ attendance was unavailable to observers and the public.
• The Quorum, visibly lacking at various stages of the sitting, was not pointed out by any of the Members.

The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Punjab Assembly proceedings conducted by PATTAN Development Organization, a member organization of FAFEN