ISLAMABAD, February 18, 2012: Starting an hour behind schedule, the fourth sitting of Sindh Assembly’s ongoing session met for an hour and 20 minutes, witnessing low attendance by Members.

There were 25 Members present at the start of the sitting and 67 at the end.  The Quorum, visibly lacking at various stages during the sitting, was not pointed out by any of the MPAs.

Out of the 17 questions on the Agenda, five were taken up, as 44 Supplementary Questions were also asked. The relevant minister was present in the House.

The parliamentary leaders of the MQM, ANP and PML were present while those of PPPP, NPP, PMLQ (F-B) and PMLF did not attend.

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 1100 hours instead of the scheduled starting time of 1000 hours. The proceedings were delayed by an hour.
• The Speaker chaired the sitting.
• The Chief Minister was not present.
• The parliamentary leaders of the MQM, ANP and PML were present while those of PPPP, NPP, PMLQ (F-B) and PMLF did not attend.
• Twenty-five Members (15% of the total Membership) were present at the start while 67 (41%) were there when the sitting was adjourned.
• Three minority members were present during the proceedings.
  

Representation and Responsiveness

• Out of the 17 questions on the Agenda, five were taken up, as 44 Supplementary Questions were also asked. The relevant minister was present in the House.

Output

• No bills were taken up by the House.
  

Order and Institutionalization

• Three Points of Order consumed five minutes of the sitting time.
• 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 unavailable to observers and the public.
• The Quorum, visibly lacking at various stages during the sitting, was not pointed out by any Member.

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