KP Assembly Adopts Three Resolutions, Passes Two Bills

ISLAMABAD, May 25, 2016: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly adopted three resolutions and passed two bills during fourth sitting of the 18th session, observes Free and Fair Election Network in its Daily Factsheet on Wednesday.

The sitting started 68 minutes behind the schedule amid the presence of 59 (48%) legislators at the start and 56 (45%) at the adjournment of sitting.

Following are some key observations of the Assembly proceedings:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

  • The KP Assembly met for an hour and 44 minutes.
  • The sitting started at 1608 hours against the scheduled time of 1500 hours.
  • 59 lawmakers (48%) were present at the start and 56 (45%) at the end of the sitting.
  • Deputy Speaker presided over the entire sitting.
  • The Chief Minister attended the sitting for 36 minutes while the Opposition Leader was not present.
  • Parliamentary leaders of JI, PML-N and QWP were present.
  • Two minority members attended the sitting.
  • Nine members applied for leave.

Output

  • The House adopted three resolutions i.e. to recall Pakistani ambassador to Bangladesh after execution of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh Chief, restore BOL media group license to prevent thousands of staffers from being unemployed and prepare education report at the constituency instead of district level.
  • The House passed two bills, including the KP Health Foundation Bill, 2016 and the KP Child Protection and Welfare (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
  • Two bills – the KP Limitation (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and the KP Appointment of GAVI Employees Bill 2016 – were also introduced in the House.

Representation and Responsiveness

  • The House debated an Adjournment Motion (AM) about the non-construction of a demolished bridge in Dir. Five lawmakers expressed their views for 25 minutes.
  • The House took up two Calling Attention Notices (CANs) relating to the probe into financial embezzlement at Peshawar Museum and the news about recent sacking of the appointed police employees in the province.

Order and Institutionalization

  • Two Points of Order consumed seven minutes of the sitting.
  • The Opposition lawmakers, led by JI legislator, walked out of the House for 15 minutes against the non-construction of a demolished bridge in Dir despite allocation of funds for it.
  • The Opposition lawmakers protested over the late start of the proceedings by sitting in front of the Chair’s rostrum for 10 minutes.

Transparency

  • ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and others.
  •  The attendance of lawmakers was not available to the observers and media.

This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the KP Assembly proceeding conducted by United Rural Development Organization (URDO) – a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted