ISLAMABAD, August 13, 2013: The Punjab Assembly continued to debate the new local government system in the second sitting of its fourth session on Tuesday. The debate lasted two hours and 26 minutes.

Ten PMLN lawmakers dominated the debate by sharing their views on the local government system for an hour and 26 minutes. Following were four PTI MPAs who spoke for 44 minutes while a single member each of PMLQ and PPPP also took part in the debate for 10 and six minutes, respectively.

The Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the proceedings. The Speaker chaired the entire sitting.

There were 64 Members at the beginning, 47 at the end and a maximum 96 at a point during the sitting. The quorum, although lacking on several occasions, was not pointed out.

Following are some key observations of the proceedings:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Punjab Assembly met for two hours and 45 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1115 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1000 hours witnessing a delay of an hour and 15 minutes.
• The Speaker chaired the sitting.
• A total of 64 Members were present at the beginning, 47 at the end and a maximum 96 at a point during the sitting.
• The Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
• Four minority Members were present.
• None of the Members applied for leave.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Sixteen MPAs debated the bill on the new local government system including 10 PMLN MPAs, four PTI and a single member each of PMLQ and PPPP. The debate lasted two hours and 26 minutes.
  

Transparency

• The Assembly documented the Members’ attendance.

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

 The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Punjab Assembly proceedings conducted by PATTAN, a member organization of FAFEN