ISLAMABAD, September 7, 2012:  Starting 31 minutes late, the sixth sitting of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly’s 27^th session met for two hours and 46 minutes on Friday. It witnessed low attendance of MPAs.  Only 34 (27% of total Membership) were present at the start, while 35 (28%) were there at the adjournment.

The Chief Minister, the Deputy Speaker, and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.  The Quorum was visible lacking at various stages of the sitting. However, it was not pointed out by any of the MPAs.

The House passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Apprenticeship (Amendment) Bill 2012 and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Emergency Rescue Bill 2012.

All seven questions appearing on the agenda were taken and responded to by the relevant minister. Additionally, 16 supplementary questions were also asked.

Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Assembly met for two hours and 46 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1731 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1700 hours. The House proceedings started late by 31minutes.
• The Speaker presided over the sitting. The Deputy Speaker was not present.
• The Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the proceedings.
• The parliamentary leaders of the PPPS, PML and PPPP attended the sitting.
• Thirty-four Members (27% of total Membership) were present at the start, while 35 (28%) were present when the sitting was adjourned.
• Two Minority Members were present during the sitting.
• Eleven Members applied for leave.

Representation and Responsiveness

• All seven questions appearing on the agenda were taken and responded to by the relevant minister. Additionally, 16 supplementary questions were also asked.
• Seven Calling Attention Notices were taken up by the House.

Output

• The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Apprenticeship (Amendment) Bill 2012 and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Emergency Rescue Bill 2012 were passed by the House.
• The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sacked Employees (Appointment) Bill 2012 was introduced and sent to the Standing Committee.

Order and Institutionalization

• Three Points of Order were raised, which consumed two minutes of the sitting time. However, none of the Points of Order raised attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.
• There is no instance of protest, boycott or walkout during the sitting.

Transparency

• List of Business was available to Legislators, observers and others.
• Information on Members’ attendance was unavailable to observers and the public.
• The Quorum was visible lacking at various stages of the sitting. However, it was not pointed out by any of the MPAs.

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