Budget Debate Consumes 95% of Punjab Assembly Proceedings

ISLAMABAD, June 7, 2017: Twenty-nine lawmakers participated in the general discussion on provincial annual budget 2017-18 amidst lack of quorum on Wednesday, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

Following are key observations of the House proceedings during fourth sitting of 30^thsession:

Members’ Participation

• The Punjab Assembly met for four hours and two minutes.
• The sitting started at 1143 hours against the scheduled time 1100 hours.
• The Deputy Speaker presided over the entire sitting.
• The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting while the Leader of the Opposition was present for 46 minutes.
• The Finance Minister attended the sitting for two hours and 50 minutes.
• As many as 18 MPAs (4%) were present at the outset and 19 (5%) at the adjournment of sitting.
• JI parliamentary leader attended the sitting.
• Seven minority members were present.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Twenty-nine lawmakers took part in the debate on annual budget 2017-18, which continued for three hours and 50 minutes. However, the presence of lawmakers remained thin throughout the sitting.

Transparency

• ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
• Information on Members’ attendance is available on Punjab Assembly’s website.

The daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the Punjab Assembly proceedings conducted by PATTAN Development Organization – a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are regretted.

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