ISLAMABAD, April 7, 2015: Starting 41 minutes behind schedule, the Joint Session of the Parliament continued debate on Yemen Crisis during its second sitting on Tuesday, says the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).
A total of ten legislators –three from PPPP and one each of PML-N (Prime Minister), BNP, JI, ANP, PML, PML-Z and an Independent lawmaker – spoke for 162 minutes (76% of the total time).
The Prime Minister attended the sitting for 46 minutes while the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly was present for 117 minutes.
Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:
Members’ Participation in House Proceedings
- The joint sitting lasted three hours and 34 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1141 hours against the scheduled time of 1100 hours, witnessing a delay of 41 minutes.
- The House had a prayer break of 40 minutes.
- The Speaker chaired the entire sitting while the Deputy Speaker was present for 52 minutes.
- The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman Senate did not attend the sitting.
- The Prime Minister and his counterpart, the Leader of the Opposition, attended the sitting for 46 minutes and 117 minutes respectively. The Leader of the House in the Senate attended the sitting for 65 minutes while the Leader of the Opposition in Senate was present for 91 minutes.
- Ninety-seven legislators (22% of the total membership of 446 – 342 in NA and 104 in Senate) were present at the outset of the sitting while 90 (20%) were there at the time of adjournment. A maximum of 282 members (63%) were observed to be present at one point during the sitting.
- The Parliamentary Leaders of PkMAP, APML, JI, AMLP, PML, ANP, PML-Z and BNP in the National Assembly attended the sitting.
- Six minority lawmakers attended the proceedings.
- Two legislators applied for leave.
Representation and Responsiveness
- The House debated Yemen crisis for two hours and 42 minutes (76% of the total time).
- Ten Legislators took part in the debate – three PPPP lawmakers spoke for 53 minutes followed by 24 minutes by one JI legislator and PML-Z lawmaker for 23 minutes. Similarly, PML lawmaker spoke for 15 minutes followed by BNP legislator and an Independent lawmaker (14 minutes each), ANP lawmaker (10 minutes) and Prime Minister (9 minutes).
Order and Institutionalization
- Two points of order consumed six minutes of the sitting time.
Transparency
- Information on members’ attendance was not available to the observers and the public.
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This publication has been prepared with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of FAFEN and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. This Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of the Parliament proceedings conducted by Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI); a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions excepted.