ISLAMABAD, May 27, 2019: The National Assembly was adjourned early on Monday without addressing most of its regular business due to walkout by the opposition parties, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in the Daily Factsheet
Following are key observations of the proceedings during second sitting of the 10th session:
Members’ Participation
- The House met for an hour and 19 minutes.
- The proceedings started at 1420 hours against the scheduled time of 1400 hours.
- The Speaker presided over the entire sitting.
- The Deputy Speaker was also present.
- The Leaders of the House and the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
- As many as 58 lawmakers (17%) were present at the outset and 79 (23%) at the adjournment of the sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of PML-N, PPPP, BNP and ANP attended the sitting.
- As many as five out of 10 minority lawmakers were present.
Output
- Tabled by the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, the House passed a motion under Rule 244(B) authorizing the Speaker to nominate 15 lawmakers of the House for Parliamentary Committee on Protection of Minorities from Forced Conversions.
Representation and Responsiveness
- The House did not take up a Motion of Thanks to the President for his address to the Parliament.
- The House disposed of a Calling Attention Notice (CAN) due to the absence of the mover. The notice sought to highlight the lack of medical facilities in rural parts of Islamabad.
- Another CAN regarding proposed 51 percent cut in the budget of the Higher Education Commission remained unaddressed.
Order and Institutionalization
- PML-N parliamentary leader and Minister for Communications spoke on Points of Order (POs) for 39 and 25 minutes respectively. These POs were related to attack on military check post in North Waziristan, political development and amendment in NAB laws.
- The opposition parties walked out from the proceedings at 1519 hours when the Chair gave floor to the Minister of Communications to respond to the speech of PML-N parliamentary leader instead of Ministers for Interior or Defence. They did not return to the House till adjournment of sitting at 1539 hours.
- The Chair adjourned the House to meet again on May 28, 2019 (Tuesday) at 1400 hours.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
- Attendance of lawmakers was available to the media and observers.
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