ISLAMABAD, May 31, 2018: The National Assembly on Thursday witnessed farewell speeches by outgoing lawmakers during last sitting of its current term (2013-18), observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet.
Following are the key observations of the House proceedings during 23rd (last) sitting of the 56th session:
Members’ Participation
- The National Assembly met for six hours and 48 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1136 hours against the scheduled time of 1100 hours.
- The Speaker presided over the sitting for three hours and seven minutes while rests of the proceedings were chaired by the Deputy Speaker.
- The Leader of the House (Prime Minister) attended the sitting for 52 minutes.
- The Opposition Leader was present for three hours and 19 minutes.
- As many as 50 lawmakers (15%) were present at the outset and 9 (3%) at the adjournment of the sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of PPPP, JI, PkMAP, AJIP, NP, QWP and ANP attended the sitting.
- Seven minority lawmakers were also present.
Output
- Tabled by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, the House passed the President’s Salary, Allowances and Privileges (Amendment) Bill, 2018.
- The Chair gave a ruling requesting the public to vote only those who may work to strengthen democracy.
Representation and Responsiveness
- Fifty outgoing lawmakers delivered farewell speeches on the last day of the 14th National Assembly (2013-2018) consuming six hours and eight minutes of the proceedings.
- Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training informed the House about action taken against the External Examiner who harassed the female students of an educational institution. The issue was raised last day through points of order.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
- Information on Members’ attendance is available on the National Assembly website.
This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the National Assembly’s proceedings, conducted by the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN). Errors and omissions are excepted