ISLAMABAD, June 8, 2017: The Sindh Assembly on Thursday started debate on the Finance Bill, 2017 during second sitting of its 33rd session, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in Daily Factsheet.
Following are key observations of the proceedings:
Members’ Participation
- The Sindh Assembly met for four hours and one minute.
- The sitting started at 1145 hours against the scheduled time of 1100 hours.
- The Speaker presided over the sitting for three hours and one minute while the Deputy Speaker chaired the sitting for an hour.
- The Leader of the House (Chief Minister) was present for two hours and 21 minutes while the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
- Forty-six (28%) members were present at outset while 63 (38%) at adjournment of the sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of PML-F and PTI attended the sitting.
- Seven minority members were present.
- One member applied for leave.
Representation and Responsiveness
- Fifteen lawmakers took part in the debate on annual budget 2017-18, which continued for three hours and 24minutes.
Order and Institutionalization
- MQM lawmakers protested for two minutes when one of their colleagues was not allowed by the Chair to speak on budget.
- An MQM lawmaker protested for one minute when he was not allowed to raise point of order.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
- The attendance of lawmakers was available to the media and observers.
This Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of the Sindh Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation, a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted.