ISLAMABAD, March 6, 2017: The Provincial Assembly of Sindh passed the Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2017 on Monday, while various Points of Order consumed 52 percent (85 minutes) of the sitting’s time, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet.
Following are key observations of the proceedings during first sitting of the 30th session:
Members’ Participation
- The Sindh Assembly met for two hours and 45 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1110 hours against the scheduled time of 1000 hours.
- The proceedings remain suspended for 12 minutes due to opposition’s protest and Azan break.
- The Speaker presided over the entire sitting.
- The Deputy Speaker was absent.
- The Chief Minister attended the proceedings for an hour and seven minutes.
- The Leader of the Opposition attended the sitting for an hour and nine minutes.
- Fifty-one lawmakers (31%) were present at the start and 46 (28%) at the adjournment of sitting.
- The Parliamentary leaders of PPPP, MQM, PML-F and PTI were present.
- Seven minority members also attended the sitting.
Output
- Introduced by Minister for Local Government, the House passed the Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2017.
Representation and Responsiveness
- The House skipped Question Hour due to the protest by opposition parties.
Order and Institutionalization
- The lawmakers spoke on 10 Points of Order, consuming an hour and 25 minutes of the proceedings.
- The entire opposition staged a protest for 46 minutes for not getting permission to speak on a Point of Order. The Speaker suspended the proceedings for five minutes at 1217 hours. However, the proceedings were resumed at 1226 hours.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
- Attendance of lawmakers was not available on website of the Assembly.
This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the Sindh Assembly proceedings, conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) – a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted.