ISLAMABAD, June 2, 2017: The National Assembly on Friday resumed the general discussion on Budget 2017-2018 amid walkout of the opposition parties for not airing their budget speeches on the state-run television, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet.
Following are key observations of the proceedings during seventh sitting of the 43rd session:
Members’ Participation
- The National Assembly met for an hour and 18 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1148 hours against the scheduled time of 1100 hours.
- The Speaker presided over the sitting for an hour and seven minutes while the rest of proceedings were chaired by a Member of Panel of Chairpersons.
- The Leader of the House (Prime Minister) did not attend the sitting while the Leader of the Opposition attended the proceedings for 31 minutes.
- One hundred and forty eight lawmakers (43%) were present at the outset and 92 (27%) at the adjournment of sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of JI, AMLP, PkMAP, PPPP and QWP-S attended the sitting.
- Eight minority lawmakers were also present.
Representation and Responsiveness
- A PML-N female lawmaker took part in the general discussion on Budget 2017-2018, consuming 16 minutes of the proceedings.
Order and Institutionalization
- The Leader of the Opposition and the Minister for Water and Power spoke on two Points of Order, consuming 52 minutes of the proceedings.
- The entire opposition led by Leader of the Opposition walked out of the House at 1219 hours for not telecasting the speeches of opposition lawmakers on the state-run television. They did not return to the House until the adjournment of sitting.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
- Information on members’ attendance is available on National Assembly 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.