ISLAMABAD, November 14, 2014: Starting 30 minutes behind schedule, the 8^th sitting of 15^th session of Sindh Assembly was marked by low attendance as only 3 MPAs were present at the start while 56 were there at the adjournment of the sitting says the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

MQM lawmakers protested in the house for 13 minutes and chanted slogans against Deputy Speaker when she chaired the proceedings in the absence of Speaker. They protested against remarks of Deputy Speaker during previous sitting which they termed `non-parliamentary’.

The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting while the Leader of the Opposition was present for three hours and 20 minutes.

Following are some key observations of the House proceedings:

Members’ Participation in the House Proceedings

• The Sindh Assembly met for three hours and 26 minutes.
• The sitting witnessed a delay of 30 minutes by starting at 1030 hours against the schedule start time of 1000 hours.
• The Speaker chaired the sitting for three hours and 8 minutes while the remaining time, 18 minutes, was presided over by the Deputy Speaker.
• The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting while the Leader of the Opposition was present for three hours and 20 minutes.
• Three (2% of the total membership) members were present at the start and 56 (34%) at the end of the sitting while a maximum of 59 members were observed at one point of the sitting.
• Three minority members were present in the sitting.
• Three members applied for leave.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Sponsored by the Leader of the Opposition, the house discussed an adjournment motion for two hours and 15 minutes regarding law and order in the province. Fourteen (14) lawmakers participated in the debate and the House agreed to continue discussion on it in any of the next sitting.
• Two out of four starred questions (requiring oral as well) appearing on the agenda were taken up and responded to by the relevant ministers. A total of three supplementary questions were also asked.
• Sponsored by MQM female lawmaker, the House took up a calling attention notice (CAN) regarding closure of 100 schools in Jhuddo.
• Another CAN sponsored by minority lawmaker of MQM was also taken up which was about measures being taken to remove the garbage in main Sukkur City.

Order and Institutionalization

• MQM members staged a protest for 13 minutes against the alleged non-parliamentary remarks of Deputy Speaker.
• Eleven points of order consumed 20 minutes of the proceedings’ time.

Transparency

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

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The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Sindh Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), a member organization of FAFEN.