KP Assembly: Low Attendance Sitting Meets Only for Five Minutes

ISLAMABAD, March 12, 2013: Starting two hours and 15 minutes late, the 6th sitting of the ongoing 30th session of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly witnessed low attendance of members as only 22 were present. The sitting lasted only five minutes.

The quorum was pointed out after the recitation of Quran, which led to the prorogation of the session.

The Chief Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, along with the parliamentary leaders of PML, PMLN and PPPS did not attend the sitting.

The House left the entire agenda unaddressed. A total of 14 bills were also listed on the List of Business.

 

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

  • The KP Assembly met only for five minutes.
  • The sitting started at 1815 hours against the scheduled time of 1600 hours, witnessing a delay of two hours and 15 minutes.
  • The Speaker chaired the proceedings.
  • The Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
  • The parliamentary leader of only PPPP was present whereas those of PMLN, PML, and PPPS were absent.
  • Only 22 members were present at the outset and as many at the end of the sitting.
  • One minority member attended the sitting.

 

Representation and Responsiveness

  • The Question Hour not held.

 

Output

  • Fourteen bills appearing on the agenda left unaddressed.

 

Order and Institutionalization

  • No Points of Order were raised during the sitting.
  • There was no instance of protests, walkouts or boycotts during the sitting.

 

Transparency

  • List of Business was available to the legislators, observers and others.
  • The members’ attendance record was not made public.

 

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