ISLAMABAD, December 5, 2014: Starting 44 minutes behind the schedule, the first and last sitting of Sindh Assembly’s 16th session was marked by low attendance of members as 44 were present at the outset while 51 were there at the adjournment, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) on Friday.
The single sitting session witnessed protest and walkout by three PPPP members as they were not allowed to raise the issue of sugarcane support prices.
Audit reports of Auditor General of Pakistan on accounts of Government of Sindh for the years 2012-13 & 2013-14 and public sector enterprises for the years, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 were laid before the House.
The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting, while the Leader of the Opposition was there for the entire time.
Members’ Participation in the House Proceedings
- The Sindh Assembly met for three hours and 30 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1044 hours against the scheduled time of 1000 hours, witnessing a delay of 44 minutes.
- The Speaker chaired the sitting for two hours and 32 minutes while the remaining time was presided over by the Deputy Speaker.
- The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting while the Leader of the Opposition attended the entire sitting.
- Forty-four members (27% of the total membership) were present at the start and 51 (31%) at the end of the sitting. A maximum of 81 members were observed to be present at one point of the sitting.
- The Parliamentary Leaders of the PPPP, MQM and PML-F attended the sitting.
- Four minority members were present in the sitting.
- Two members applied for leave.
Representation and Responsiveness
- Sponsored by an MQM Member, the adjournment motion regarding encroachments at graveyard in Hyderabad was withdrawn by the primary mover on the assurance of the government that the issue will be resolved at the earliest.
- Similarly, an MQM member also withdrew his privilege motion regarding the alleged misbehavior of Director Education.
- All four starred questions (requiring oral replies) appearing on the Orders of the Day were taken up and responded to by the relevant ministry. In addition, 12 supplementary questions were asked.
Order and Institutionalization
- Sixteen points of order consumed an hour and 55 minutes of the proceedings’ time.
- Three PPPP members protested and staged a walkout for 15 minutes as they were not allowed to raise the issue of sugarcane support prices by the Chair.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the members, observers and others.
- Information on members’ attendance was available to observers and the public.
- The quorum was visibly lacking at various stages of the sitting. However, it was not pointed out by any of the members.
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The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Sindh Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), a member organization of FAFEN.