ISLAMABAD, June 22, 2013: Eleven members took part in general discussion on budget during the fourth sitting of the second session of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Saturday. Starting 47 minutes late, the sitting lasted four hours and 15 minutes.
Five members of JUIF, two each of PMLN and QWP, and one each of PTI and JI discussed the budget for two hours and 40 minutes.
As many as 36 members were present at the outset while 52 were there at the time of adjournment. A maximum of 66 members were present at one point of sitting.
The Deputy Speaker chaired the entire sitting as the Speaker was not present. The opposition parties staged a 28-minute walkout over Speaker’s continuous absence.
Following are some key observations of the assembly proceedings:
Members’ Participation in House Proceedings
- The KP Assembly met for four hours and 15 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1047 hours against the scheduled time of 1000 hours, witnessing the delay of 47 minutes.
- The Deputy Speaker chaired the entire sitting. The Speaker was not present.
- The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting.
- The Finance Minister remained present in the entire sitting.
- As many as 36 members were present at the outset while 52 were there at the time of adjournment. A maximum of 66 members were present at one point of sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of PMLN, JUIF, JI, ANP, and QWPS attended the sitting while those of PPPP and AJIP along with the only MPA of APML were absent.
- All the three minority members on reserved seats were present.
Representation and Responsiveness
- As many as 11 MPAs – five of JUIF, two each of PMLN and QWP, and one each of PTI and JI – debated the budget for two hours and 40 minutes.
Order and Institutionalization
- Two points of order consumed six minutes of the sitting time.
- The opposition parties staged a 28-minute walkout over Speaker’s continuous absence.
Transparency
- List of Business was available to the legislators, observer and others.
- Information on members’ attendance was not available to the observers and the public.
- Copies of the budget speech were available to the legislators.
The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of KP Assembly proceedings conducted by PAIMAN Alumni Trust, a member organization of FAFEN