ISLAMABAD, June 23, 2021: The Sindh Assembly continued general discussion on provincial budget 2021-22 amid protest of opposition lawmakers and seven lawmakers took part in the debate, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) its Daily Factsheet on Wednesday.
Following are key observations of the House proceedings during 15th sitting of the 21st session:
Members’ Participation
- The House met for three hours and 44 minutes; however, the proceedings remained suspended for 22 minutes due to opposition’s protest.
- The sitting started at 01:30 pm against the scheduled time of 12:00 pm.
- The speaker chaired the entire proceedings.
- The deputy speaker did not attend the sitting.
- The leader of the House (Chief Minister) was present for 12 minutes.
- The opposition leader attended the proceedings for an hour and 52 minutes.
- As many as 32 MPAs (19 percent) were present at the outset and 52 (31 percent) at the adjournment of the sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of PPPP, PTI, MQMP, GDA, TLP and MMAP were present.
- Eight out of nine minority lawmakers attended the proceedings.
Representation and Responsiveness
- Seven lawmakers – PPPP (four), PTI, TLP and MQM (one each) – participated in general discussion on budget for the financial year 2021-22 as well as supplementary budget for the financial year 2020-21. They consumed two hours and 51 minutes of the proceedings.
Order and Institutionalization
- Lawmakers belonging to MQM protested for an hour and 52 minutes over their reservations on provincial budget.
- The House was adjourned to meet again on Thursday, June 24, 2021 at 11:00 am.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
- The attendance of lawmakers was not available to the media and observers.
This Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of the Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted