ISLAMABAD, April 21, 2017: The National Assembly session was prorogued sine die on Friday without taking up any agenda amidst opposition parties’ protest against Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, observes Free and Fair Election Network in Daily Factsheet.
Following are key observations of the proceedings during eighth sitting of National Assembly’s 41st session:
Members’ Participation
- The National Assembly met for 20 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1047 hours against the scheduled time of 1030 hours.
- The Deputy Speaker presided over the entire proceedings as the Speaker was not present.
- The Leader of the House (Prime Minister) did not attend the sitting while the Leader of the Opposition remained present during the entire sitting.
- 125 lawmakers (37%) were present at the outset and 137 (40%) at the adjournment of sitting.
- The Parliamentary leaders of PTI, PkMAP, JI, AMLP and ANP attended the sitting.
- Five minority lawmakers attended the sitting.
Output
- The House did not take up a resolution for extension of an ordinance.
Representation and Responsiveness
- The House fails to take up Starred Questions and Calling Attention Notices.
Order and Institutionalization
- The Leader of the Opposition and three ministers spoke on Points of Order consuming six minutes of the proceedings.
- Entire opposition staged a protest demanding resignation of the Prime Minister in light of the Supreme Court’s verdict on Panama Papers’ scandal. They gathered around the Speaker’s dais and tore apart copies of the agenda. The protest continued for 14 minutes.
Transparency
- The Orders of the Day was available to the legislators, observers and public.
- The attendance of lawmakers is available on the website.
This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the National Assembly proceedings conducted by Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN). Errors and omissions are excepted.