ISLAMABAD, June 10, 2013: The President of Pakistan addressed the joint sitting of the parliament on Monday, June 10, 2013 with 78% of the total membership present from both the Houses, reports Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its daily factsheet based on direct observation. It is for the sixth time that the incumbent president addressed the parliament – National Assembly and Senate. The sitting lasted 27 minutes.

The President emphasized on the need to address the various challenges that the country is currently facing. He also applauded the efforts of all the political parties and their leadership for accepting the elections, despite reservations. He addressed the sitting for 20 minutes.

The National Assembly Speaker chaired the proceedings. The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly, and the Chairman Senate attended the sitting.

Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The joint sitting lasted 27 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1643 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1630 hours, witnessing the delay of 13 minutes.
• The National Assembly Speaker chaired the entire sitting.
• A total 280 lawmakers were present at the outset while 345 were there at the time of adjournment.
• The president spoke for 20 minutes.
• The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition attended the entire sitting.
• The proceedings started with the national anthem followed by the recitation of Quran.

Transparency

• Information on members’ attendance was not available to the observers and the public.

 

 The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of the National Assembly proceedings conducted by Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI); a member organization of FAFEN