ISLAMABAD, March, 2013: Starting 23 minutes late, the 3^rd sitting of the ongoing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly’s session was marked by the low attendance of Members. Only 29 were present at the outset while 47 were there at the adjournment of the sitting

The quorum was visibly lacking at various stages of the sitting. However, it was not pointed out by any of the legislators.

Eight starred questions on the agenda were taken up and responded to by the relevant ministries. Additionally, seven supplementary questions were asked.

Five bills – The Provincial Motor Vehicles (KPK) (Amendment) bill 2013, the KPK Finance (Amendment) Bill 2013, the KPK Workers Compensation Bill 2013, the KPK Maternity Benefit Bill 2013 and the KPK Factories Bill 2013 – were introduced and sent to the respective standing committees.

Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The KP Assembly met for an hour and 21 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1623 hours against the scheduled time of 1600 hours. The proceedings started late by 23 minutes.
• The Speaker chaired the entire sitting whereas Deputy Speaker was present.
• The Chief Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the parliamentary leaders all the parties attended the sitting.
• Twenty-nine members were present at the outset while 47 were there at the end of the sitting. A maximum of 48 were present at one point of the sitting.
• One minority member was present.
• Two members applied for leave.
• The house took a 27-minute break.

 Representation and Responsiveness

• Eight starred questions on the agenda were taken up and responded to by the relevant ministries. Additionally, seven supplementary questions were asked.

 Output

• Five bills – The Provincial Motor Vehicles (KPK) (Amendment) bill 2013, the KPK Finance (Amendment) Bill 2013, the KPK Workers Compensation Bill 2013, the KPK Maternity Benefit Bill 2013 and the KPK Factories Bill 2013 – were introduced and sent to the respective standing committees.
• The Audit Reports of Auditor General of Pakistan on the Accounts of 24 District Governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the Year 2010-2011 was presented to the House.

 Order and Institutionalization

• One point of order consumed two minutes of the sitting time.  
• There were no instances of protests, boycotts or walkouts.

Transparency

• Orders of the Day were available to the legislators, observers and others.
• The members’ attendance was recorded and made public.
• The quorum was visibly lacking at various stages of the sitting. However, it was not pointed out by any of the legislators.

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