ISLAMABAD, June 20, 2013: The general discussion on budget started in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly during the second sitting of the second session on Thursday.

The debate on budget was opened by a PMLN MPA who spoke for 46 minutes. One member each of ANP and PPPP shared their views about it for 19 and 14 minutes respectively.

Thirty-eight members were present at the outset while 35 were there at the end of the sitting. A maximum of 103 members were present at one point of sitting. The sitting lasted three hours and 58 minutes.

The Deputy Speaker chaired the sitting as the Speaker was not present.

Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The KP Assembly met for three hours and 58 minutes. There were two prayer breaks of 34 and 36 minutes respectively. There was also a break for 21 minutes as the opposition was not present.
• The sitting started at 1630 hours against the scheduled time of 1600 hours, witnessing the delay of 30 minutes.
• The Deputy Speaker chaired the entire sitting. The Speaker was not present.
• The Chief Minister was present.
• As many as 38 members were present at the outset while 35 were there at the end of the sitting. A maximum of 103 members were present at one point of sitting.
• Three minority members attended the sitting.
  

Representation and Responsiveness

• Three MPAs debated the budget for an hour and 19 minutes. A PMLN member opened the debate and discussed the budget for 46 minutes. An ANP MPA debated it for 19 minutes while a PPPP member spoke over it for 14 minutes.

Order and Institutionalization

• There was no instance of protests, walkout or boycott during the sitting.
  

Transparency

• List of Business was available to the legislators, observers and others.
• Information on members’ attendance was not available to the observers and the public.
• Copies of the budget speech were available to the legislators.

 

The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of KP Assembly proceedings conducted by PAIMAN Alumni Trust, a member organization of FAFEN