ISLAMABAD, June 11, 2015: The Punjab Assembly passed two bills and adopted a resolution amid low attendance of lawmakers on Thursday, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

The sitting started 124 minutes behind the schedule with 72 members (19%) present at the start and 102 (27%) at the time of adjournment.

The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting, while the Opposition Leader was present for 47% of the proceedings’ duration.

The House passed the Punjab Motor Vehicle Transaction Licensees Bill 2015 and the Provincial Motor Vehicles (Second Amendment) Bill 2015.

The lawmakers also discussed the Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Bill 2015. However, it was not introduced as the Law Minister suggested a complete review of the bill by the members.

In addition, the House adopted a resolution tabled by a PML-N lawmaker to establish an authority for development of a hill station at Mari Gorchani in Rajanpur.

Following are some key observations of the assembly business:

Members’ Participation in the House Proceedings

• The Punjab Assembly met for two hours and 32 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1204 hours against the scheduled time of 1000 hours.
• The Speaker presided over the sitting for 60 minutes.
• The remaining time was chaired by the Deputy Speaker.
• 72 members (19%) were present at the start and 102 (27%) at the end of the sitting.
• A maximum of 104 (28%) members were present.
• The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting.
• The Opposition Leader was present for 71 minutes.
• Among parliamentary leaders, only the JI and PPPP leaders were present.
• Three out of eight minority members attended the sitting.
• No member applied for leave.

Output

• The House passed the Punjab Motor Vehicle Transaction Licensees Bill 2015 and the Provincial Motor Vehicles (Second Amendment) Bill 2015.
• The Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Bill 2015 was not introduced as the Law Minister suggested a complete review of the bill by the assembly members.
• The House also adopted a resolution tabled by a PML-N lawmaker to establish an authority for development of a hill station at Marri Gorchani in Rajanpur.

Representation and Responsiveness

• The House took up 10 out of 16 questions appearing on the agenda.
• The members also raised 21 supplementary questions on the floor of the House.
• Four calling attention notices on the agenda were also taken up during the sitting.

Order and Institutionalization

• The lawmakers raised 12 points of order that consumed six minutes of the sitting.
• The quorum was pointed out by a PTI lawmaker at 1411 hours. However, it was found to be complete upon counting.
• A JI lawmaker staged a one-minute walkout against increase in electricity tariff by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA).

Transparency

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