ISLAMABAD, February 6, 2013: Starting an hour and 25 minutes behind schedule, the second sitting of the 40^th session of Sindh Assembly suspended the regular agenda to offer condolences on the recent death of an MPA (PS-73 Dadu-III).

Meeting for an hour and 20 minutes the House witnessed low attendance as only twenty-one Members were present at the outset while 89 were there at the adjournment.

The Speaker, Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting. The parliamentary leaders of the MQM, PMLF, NPP, PML (F-B) and ANP were sighted during the sitting.

The following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Sindh Assembly met for an hour and 20 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1125 hours instead of the scheduled starting time of 1100 hours. The proceedings were delayed by an hour and 25 minutes.
• The Deputy Speaker chaired the sitting. The Speaker was not present.
• The Speaker, Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
• The parliamentary leaders of MQM, PMLF, NPP, PML (F-B) and ANP were present.
• Twenty-one Members (12% of the total Membership) were present at the start while 89 (52%) were there when the sitting was adjourned.
• Four Minority Members were present.

Representation and Responsiveness

• The regular agenda was not taken up as the House offered condolences for the deceased MPA from PS-73 Dadu-III.

Output

• No Bills were taken up by the House.

Order and Institutionalization

• No Points of Order were raised during the sitting.
• There were no instances of protests, boycotts or walkouts during the sitting.

Transparency

• Orders of the Day were available to Legislators, observers and others.
• Information on Members’ attendance was available to observers and the public.

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