ISLAMABAD, November 28: Unfinished agenda, low attendance of Members, lack of Quorum and Points of Order interrupting the regular proceedings marked the 36th session of the National Assembly, says a Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) preliminary report on Monday.
ISLAMABAD, November 25, 2011: The National Assembly passed the two Bills which appeared on the Orders of the Day during the last sitting of the 36th session. Spread over two hours and five minutes, the last sitting was also marked by low attendance of Members, with only 27 Legislators present at the outset, and 58 present when the session prorogued.
ISLAMABAD, November 24, 2011: The National Assembly met for three hours and 25 minutes during the ninth sitting of the ongoing 36th session. The sitting witnessed low attendance of Members, with only 38 Parliamentarians present at the start, while 64 were present when the sitting was adjourned. The Quorum was visibly lacking at various stages of the sitting. However, the lack of it was not pointed out by any of the Members.
ISLAMABAD, November 23, 2011: The National Assembly met for two hours and 57 minutes during the eighth sitting of the ongoing 36th session. The sitting witnessed low attendance of Members, with only 24 Legislators were present at the start, while 64 were present when the sitting was adjourned.
ISLAMABAD, November 22, 2011: The National Assembly met for two hours and 20 minutes during the seventh sitting of the 36th session. Only the parliamentary leader of the PPPS attended the proceedings. The issue of Members’ low attendance persisted during this sitting as well. Only 32 Legislators were present at the start, while 85 were present when the sitting was adjourned.
ISLAMABAD, November 21, 2011: The National Assembly did not take up the National Commission for Human Rights Bill 2011 during the sixth sitting, which lasted two hours and five minutes. The sitting was marked by low attendance, with only 31 Legislators present at
ISLAMABAD November 18, 2011: The National Assembly met for two hours and eight minutes during the fifth sitting of the ongoing 36th session. The House did not take up any formal agenda which appeared on the Orders of the Day, as the Members raised a total of 15 Points of Order, which failed to attract the Chair’s formal ruling. Unless the Chair gives a formal ruling on a Point of Order, speeches and rejoinders do not contribute to any assembly output.
ISLAMABAD, November 17, 2011: The National Assembly met for three hours and five minutes during the 4th sitting of the ongoing 36th session. Though like previous sittings the quorum was lacking, it was not pointed out by any of the Members. A total of 27 Legislators were observed to be present at the outset of the sitting, while 61 Members were present when it was adjourned.
ISLAMABAD, November 16, 2011: The National Assembly met for three hours during the third sitting of the ongoing 36th session. The sitting witnessed low attendance of Members, with 107 Members present at the outset and only 36 present when the sitting was adjourned.
ISLAMABAD, November 15, 2011: The National Assembly met for two hours and 28 minutes during the second sitting of the ongoing 36th session. The sitting was marked by low attendance of Members, with 76 present at the outset and 68 present at the end. The Quorum was visibly lacking at various stages of the sitting. However, it was not pointed out by any of the Legislators.