ISLAMABAD, January 6, 2015: Starting 83 minutes behind the schedule, the 12th (last) sitting of the Senate’s 109^th session witnessed the passage of the 21st Constitution Amendment Bill 2015 and the Pakistan Army Amendment Bill 2015, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its daily factsheet.

Fifty-two members (50%) were present at the start and 78 (75%) at the time of the sitting’s adjournment.

The Leader of the House and the Opposition Leader attended the entire sitting. Moreover, the Prime Minister also attended the sitting for two hours and eight minutes.

Following are some key observations of the House proceedings:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Senate met for two hours and 12 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1623 hours against the scheduled time of 1500 hours, witnessing a delay of 83 minutes.
• The Chairman presided over the entire sitting. The Deputy Chairman was also present.
• The Leader of the House and the Opposition Leader attended the entire sitting.
• The Prime Minister attended the sitting for two hours and eight minutes.
• Fifty-two members (50%) were present at the start and 78 (75%) at the time of the sitting’s adjournment.
• The parliamentary leader of JUI-F did not attend the sitting.
• Three minority members were present.
• None of the members applied for leave.

Output

• Moved by the Minister for Law, Justice and Human Rights, the House unanimously passed the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill 2015 and the Constitution (Twenty-first Amendment) Bill 2015.

Representation and Responsiveness                    

• The Leader of the House moved a motion to suspend the Question Hour on Orders of the Day, which was passed by the House.

Order and Institutionalization

• Nineteen points of order consumed 82 minutes of the proceedings’ time.
• There were no instances of protest, boycotts or walkouts.

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This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of FAFEN and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the Senate proceedings conducted by PATTAN Development Organization – a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are regretted