ISLAMABAD, February 17, 2012: Starting more than an hour behind schedule, the third sitting of Sindh Assembly’s ongoing session met for an hour and 57 minutes, witnessing low attendance by Members.

There were 48 Members present at the start of the sitting and 66 at the end.  Maximum number of members present at any point of the sitting was 70.

Out of the eight questions on the Agenda, seven were taken up, as 26 Supplementary Questions were also asked. The relevant minister was present in the House.

The parliamentary leaders of the MQM, NPP, PMLQ (F-B) and ANP were present while those of PPPP, PMLF and PMLQ did not attend.

The following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Sindh Assembly met for an hour and 57 minutes
• The sitting started at 1115 hours instead of the scheduled starting time of 1000 hours. The proceedings were delayed by an hour and 15 minutes.
• The Speaker chaired the sitting.
• The Chief Minister was not present.
• The parliamentary leaders of the MQM, NPP, PMLQ (F-B) and ANP were present while those of PPPP, PMLF and PMLQ did not attend.
• Forty-eight Members (29% of the total Membership) were present at the start while 66 (39%) were there when the sitting was adjourned.
• Three minority members were present during the proceedings.
  

Representation and Responsiveness

• Out of the eight questions on the Agenda, seven were taken up, as 26 Supplementary Questions were also asked. The relevant minister was present in the House.

Output

• No bills were taken up by the House.
  

Order and Institutionalization

• Five Points of Order consumed 15 minutes of the sitting time.
• There were no instances of protests, boycotts or walkouts during the sitting.
  

Transparency

• Orders of the Day were available to Legislators, observers and others.
• Information on Members’ attendance was unavailable to observers and the public.

The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Sindh Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), a member organization of FAFEN