ISLAMABAD, April 10, 2015: The Parliament unanimously approved a draft resolution on Friday, urging the government to stay neutral and strive for diplomatic resolution to the Yemen crisis, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

The sitting started 38 minutes behind the schedule with 74 legislators (22%) present at the start and 225 (66%) at the time of adjournment. Three senators (an independent member and one each from PTI and PML-N) and an equal number of MNAs (one each from PPPP, JUI-F and MQM) spoke on the Yemen crisis for 78% of the proceedings’ time.

The Prime Minister and the Opposition Leaders of both houses were present for 14 minutes, while the Leader of the House in the Senate attended the sitting for 55 minutes. The Senate Chairman attended the sitting for five minutes, while the Deputy Chairman was not present. Following are some key observations of the parliamentary proceedings:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Parliament met for three hours and 27 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1108 hours against the scheduled time of 1030 hours.
• The National Assembly Speaker chaired the entire sitting.
• The Deputy Speaker was present for 56 minutes.
• The Senate Chairman attended five minutes of the proceedings.
• The Deputy Chairman was absent.
• The Prime Minister and the Opposition Leaders were present for 14 minutes.
• The Leader of the House in the Senate was present for 55 minutes.
• 74 lawmakers (22%) were present at the start and 225 (66%) at the end of the sitting.
• A maximum of 235 parliamentarians (69%) attended the sitting.
• The parliamentary leaders of PML-F, AMLP, APML, QWP, JI, PML-Z and PkMAP in the National Assembly were present.
• Seven minority lawmakers attended the proceedings.
• Eight legislators applied for leave.

Output

• The lawmakers unanimously approved a draft resolution to stay neutral and strive for a diplomatic solution to the Yemen crisis.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Three senators (an independent member and one each from PTI and PML-N) and an equal number of MNAs (one each from PPPP, JUI-F and MQM) spoke on the Yemen crisis for 68 minutes (78% of the proceedings’ time).

Order and Institutionalization

• One point of order consumed two minutes of the sitting.

Transparency

• Information on members’ attendance was not available to the observers and the public.

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 This publication has been prepared with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of FAFEN and in no way reflect the views of the European Union. This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the parliamentary proceedings conducted by Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) – a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted.