ISLAMABAD, February 27, 2015: Starting three hours and 34 minutes behind the schedule, the 10th sitting of the Punjab Assembly’s 12th session did not take up any agenda item amid low attendance of lawmakers, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its daily factsheet.

Thirty-six legislators (10%) were present at the start of the sitting while 32 (9%) at the time of adjournment. The Leader of the House and the Opposition Leader did not attend the sitting.

The agenda included general discussion on grievances of sugarcane growers and issues pertaining to agriculture sector, however, it remained unaddressed on the request of Minister for Labour to suspend it till next sitting due to low attendance.

Following are some key observations of the proceedings:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Punjab Assembly met for an hour and 28 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1734 hours against the scheduled time of 1400 hours.
• The House had a prayer break for 20 minutes.
• Thirty-six legislators (10%) were present at the start while 32 (9%) at the end of the sitting.
• The sitting was chaired by the Deputy Speaker.
• The Leader of the House and the Opposition Leader were absent.
• Among parliamentary leaders, only JI leader attended the sitting.
• Two out of eight minority members were present.
• No member applied for leave.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Eight out of 21 starred questions appearing on the agenda were taken up and responded to by the relevant department. In addition, the legislators raised 19 supplementary questions during the sitting.
• The House took up an adjournment motion regarding presence of poisonous material in LPG being imported from a foreign country.
• The House did not hold discussion on grievances of sugarcane growers and issues pertaining to agriculture.

Order and Institutionalization

• Four points of order consumed three minutes of the proceedings’ time.

Transparency

• ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and others.
• Information on members’ attendance was unavailable to the observers and public.

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The daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the Punjab Assembly proceedings conducted by PATTAN Development Organization – a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted.