ISLAMABAD, June 15, 2012: On the second day of general discussion on the budget in the Balochistan Assembly, 19 legislators were present in the House at the start of the sitting and 26 when it was adjourned on Friday.
Nine Members – four PML, two PPPP and one each of JUI, JUI (Ideological) and ANP – spoke on the budget for 47 minutes (72% of the sitting time).
The Chief Minister attended the sitting for 45 minutes.
Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:
Members’ Participation in House Proceedings
- The Balochistan Assembly met for an hour and five minutes.
- The sitting started at 1530 hours instead of the scheduled starting time of 1500 hours. The proceedings started 30 minutes late.
- The Speaker chaired the sitting.
- The Chief Minister attended the sitting for 45 minutes.
- The parliamentary leaders of the ANP, BNPA, JUI (Ideological), PMLN, PML and PPPP were present.
- Nineteen Members (29% of the total Membership of 65) were present at the start while 21 (32%) were there when the sitting was adjourned. A maximum of 26 (40%) were present at one point of the sitting.
- Three minority Members were present.
- Eight Members applied for leave to be absent.
Representation and Responsiveness
- Nine Members – four PML, two PPPP and one each of JUI, JUI (Ideological) and ANP – spoke on the budget for 47 minutes (72% of the sitting time).
Output
- There was no other formal agenda on the Orders of the Day.
Order and Institutionalization
- No Points of Order consumed two minutes of sitting time.
- There were no instances of protests, boycotts or walkouts.
Transparency
- Orders of the Day were available to legislators, observers and others.
- Information on Members’ attendance was unavailable to observers and the public.
The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Balochistan Assembly proceedings conducted by Center for Peace and Development (CPD), a member organization of FAFEN