ISLAMABAD, May 18, 2015: The second sitting of the Punjab Assembly’s ongoing session was adjourned due to lack of quorum after meeting for an hour and 44 minutes on Monday, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

The sitting started 53 minutes behind the schedule with 14 (4%) lawmakers present at the start and 86 (23%) at the time of adjournment. The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting, while the Opposition Leader was present for only 24 minutes.

A PTI lawmaker pointed out the quorum at 1607 hours, following which the Speaker ordered the bells to be rung for five minutes. The Speaker ordered for the count twice but the quorum was found to be incomplete. As a result, the sitting was adjourned till Tuesday.

The House did not take up the Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan (Amendment) Ordinance 2015 and the University of Okara Bill 2015.

Following are some key observations of the assembly business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Punjab Assembly met for one hour and 44 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1453 hours against the scheduled time of 1400 hours.
• 14 members (4%) were present at the start of the sitting.
• A maximum of 86 (23%) members were seen at the time of adjournment.
• The sitting was entirely chaired by the Speaker.
• The Deputy Speaker was not present.
• The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting.
• The Opposition Leader was present for 24 minutes.
• The parliamentary leaders of JI and PPPP were present.
• Three out of eight minority members attended the sitting.
• No member applied for leave.

Representation and Responsiveness

• The House took up only one out of 14 questions appearing on the agenda, while the lawmakers raised another six supplementary questions during the sitting.
• The remaining 13 questions were not taken up due to the absence of lawmakers.
• A PTI lawmaker’s privilege motion against District Education Officer Attock regarding improper security arrangements at a girls’ primary school was also taken up and referred to the privileges committee.

Order and Institutionalization

• The lawmakers raised 11 points of order that consumed seven minutes of the sitting.
• A PTI lawmaker pointed out the quorum at 1607 hours, following which the sitting was adjourned till Tuesday.

Transparency

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