ISLAMABAD June 6, 2013: In its first session after the general elections on May 11, the 14th National Assembly met for three sittings for administering oath to the new legislators and electing the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and the Prime Minister, completing the first historic transition of power from one democratically elected government to another in the country.
The three sittings lasted 13 hours and 31 minutes, with each sitting lasting four hours and 30 minutes, says a Free and Fair Election Network report based on direct observation of the Lower House proceedings. On average each sitting started late, facing a delay of an hour and 27 minutes.  On average 298 members were present at the start of each sitting and 31 at the time of adjournment.
As many as 301 members took oath, according to article 65 of the constitution, in the first sitting which met for two hours and 23 minutes. The Speaker of the outgoing assembly presided over the proceedings.   The oath was followed by the signing of ‘Roll of Members’. In the second and third sittings, 19 more members took oath.
The Lower House elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker during the second sitting. The PMLN nominated legislators were elected as Speaker and Deputy Speaker. Both the members received 258 votes each. The PTI and MQM had also fielded their candidates for both the slots. The PTI candidates, for both positions, received 31 votes each, while the MQM candidates received 23 each. The Speaker of the outgoing assembly administered the oath to the newly elected Speaker.
The election for the Prime Minister was held during the third sitting of the first session. The PMLN chief was elected as Leader of the House by securing 244 votes. The candidates of the PPPP and PTI for the office of the Prime Minister got 42 and 31 votes respectively. The election held through division vote and the members were asked to proceed to the lobbies designated for the candidates for recording their votes. Overall, the session lasted 13 hours and 31 minutes.
Party-Position of the 14th National Assembly
| Sr. No | Party | Total General Seats | Total Independents who Joined Other Parties | Total Non-Muslims Reserved | Total Women Reserved | Total |
| 1 | PML-N | 126 | 19 | 5 | 26 | 176 |
| 2 | PPPP | 33 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 41 |
| 3 | PTI | 28 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 35 |
| 4 | MQM | 18 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 23 |
| 5 | JUI-F | 11 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 15 |
| 6 | PML-F | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 7 | PMAP | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 8 | JI | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 9 | NPP | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | PML | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | ANP | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | BNP | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | QWP-S | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | PML-Z | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | NP | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | AMLP | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | AJIP | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | APML | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | IND | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Total | 247 | 19 | 9 | 50 | 325* |
*Â The party position of the National Assembly has been taken from the Election Commission of Pakistan website.
About FAFEN: FAFEN, a coalition of 42 civil society organizations, started the direct observation of the National Assembly proceedings in 2008, using a methodology based the rules of the parliamentary business. The direct observation was extended to the proceedings of Senate and the provincial assemblies in 2011.
Disclaimer: The data cited in this report is based on direct observation of the National Assembly’s proceedings, and every care has been taken to maintain accuracy. To intimate any errors and omissions, please write to House 169A, St 20, F11/2, Islamabad – 051-8466120.
