National Assembly: 27 Lawmakers Take Part in Budget Discussion

ISLAMABAD, June 15, 2016: The discussion on the Budget 2016-17 in the National Assembly continued on Wednesday during 11th sitting of the National Assembly’s 33rd session, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

Following are some key observations of the House proceeding:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

  • The National Assembly met for six hours and 14 minutes.
  • The sitting started at 1105 hours against the scheduled time 1100 hours.
  • The Speaker presided over the sitting for 155 minutes while the Deputy Speaker chaired the rest of the proceeding.
  • The Prime Minister did not attend the sitting.
  • The Leader of the Opposition was present for 97 minutes.
  • The Finance Minister attended the sitting for 66 minutes.
  • Twelve Federal Ministers were present.
  • 44 MNAs (13%) were present at outset and 9 (3%) at adjournment of the sitting.
  • The parliamentary leaders of PkMAP, QWP,JI, ANP and PML-Z attended the sitting.
  • Five minority members were present.

Representation and Responsiveness

  • Twenty-seven lawmakers took part in the general discussion on Budget 2016-17 consuming 326 minutes.

Order and Institutionalization

  • The lawmakers spoke on 13 Points of Order consuming 17 minutes of the sitting.
  • MQM lawmakers walked out of the House for seven minutes against the arrest of their workers in Karachi.

Transparency

  • ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
  • Information on Members’ attendance is available on National Assembly website.

This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the National Assembly proceeding conducted by Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN). Errors and omissions are excepted