ISLAMABAD, May 8, 2012: As the PMLN continued protest over the Prime Minister’s conviction in the contempt case, the sixth sitting of Senate’s 81^st session, which met for two hours and 22 minutes, witnessed low attendance of Senators.

Only six Senators were present at the start and 18 were there when the sitting, which started 40 minutes late, was adjourned.

PMLN Senators again protested over the issue of the Prime Minister’s conviction in the contempt case and boycotted the proceedings. They went out of the House at 1813 hours and did not come back to attend the remaining proceedings.

The Leader of the House attended the entire sitting while the Leader of the Opposition was there for 20 minutes. Additionally, the parliamentary leaders of JUIF and ANP were present.

Six Senators spoke on the president’s address to the joint session of the parliament in March.

Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• Senate met for two hours and 22 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1740 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1700 hours. The proceedings started late by 40 minutes.
• The Chairman chaired the sitting.
• The Leader of the House was present during the entire sitting while the Leader of the Opposition attended the sitting for 20 minutes.
• The Parliamentary Leaders of the ANP and JUIF attended the sitting.
• Six Senators (6% of total Membership) were present at the start, while 18 (17%) were present when the sitting was adjourned.
• One Minority Member was present during the sitting.
• Two Senators were applied for leave to be absent.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Six Senators debated the Presidential Address held on March 17, 2012 for an hour.
• Two out of 12 questions appearing on the Agenda were taken up and responded by the relevant minister. Additionally, four Supplementary questions were raised.

Output

• No bills appeared n the Orders of the Day.

 Order and Institutionalization

• No Points of Order was raised during the sitting time.
• The sitting witnessed a walkout by PMLN legislators demanding resignation of Prime Minister after his conviction by the apex court in the contempt case. They went out of the House at 1813 hours and did not come back to attend the remaining proceedings.

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 the Senate proceedings conducted by Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI), a member organization of FAFEN