ISLAMABAD, May 8, 2015: The Sindh Assembly passed the Sindh Local Government (Second Amendment) Bill 2015 during 11^th sitting of its ongoing session on Friday, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

The sitting started 40 minutes behind the schedule with 35 (21%) lawmakers present at the start and 44 (26%) at the time of adjournment.

The House deferred discussion on the third quarterly report regarding allocation and expenditures of the provincial budget and pre-budget proposals till Monday.

Following are some key observations of the assembly business:

Members’ Participation in the House Proceedings:

• The Sindh Assembly met for three hours and 32 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1040 hours against the scheduled time of 1000 hours.
• The Speaker presided over the sitting for two hours and 25 minutes.
• The remaining proceedings were chaired by a member of panel of chairpersons.
• The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting.
• The Opposition Leader attended the sitting for three hours and 20 minutes.
• 35 members (21%) were present at the start and 44 (26%) at the end of the sitting.
• A maximum of 60 members (36%) attended the sitting.
• The parliamentary leaders of PPPP, MQM, PML-N and PTI were present.
• Two out of nine minority members attended the sitting.
• Three members applied for leave.

Output

• Introduced by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, the House passed the Sindh Local Government (Second Amendment) Bill 2015.

Representation and Responsiveness

• The House discussed an adjournment motion for two hours and 22 minutes regarding shortage of water in Karachi. Fourteen lawmakers- MQM (7), PML-F (2), PTI (3), PML-N, PPPP (one each)- participated in the debate while Minister for Local Government concluded discussion during his 29 minutes speech.

Order and Institutionalization

• Seven points of order (POs) consumed 14 minutes of the sitting.

Transparency

• ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the members, observers and the public.

• Information on members’ attendance was available to the observers and the public.

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This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the Sindh Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) – a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted