MNAs attendance drops by 13% in five years
General disinterest among politicians to participate in parliamentary business partly to blame
PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The Free and Fair Election Network said in a report on Sunday that the average attendance of National Assembly (NA) legislators declined by 13% over the last five years.
The analysis of the attendance patterns suggests that the decline in attendance rate is due to weak enforcement of parliamentary rules of procedures and general disinterest among political leaders to participate in parliamentary business
The annual average attendance per sitting declined from 222 (65%) legislators during the first year to 193 (56%) legislators during the fifth year. Similarly, the session-wise attendance average declined from 311 (91%) per sitting during the first session in June 2013 to 192 (56%) in the last NA session that was prorogued sine die in March 2018.
Each NA sitting was attended by an average of 60% legislators and only five sittings were attended by 301 or more legislators, while 42 sittings were attended by 251 to 300 legislators, according to the official record.
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A total of 212 sittings had an attendance between 201 and 250 legislators while 174 sittings had an attendance between 151 to 200 legislators, 33 sittings had an attendance between 101 and 150 legislators while two sittings were attended by less than 100 legislators.
The attendance also fluctuated on various weekdays. The average attendance on midweek days (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) is higher than the first and last working days of the week (Monday and Friday).
According to the FAFEN report, a comparison of the attendance patterns of legislators, the Prime Minister (PM) and the party Chief Whips (CW) reveals that average attendance declined during those sittings when the PM and the party CWs were absent.
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Moreover, the weak application of the parliamentary rules regarding leave of absence also seemed to have a negative impact on attendance. According to the rules of procedure, the lawmakers may lose their seats if they stay absent from the proceedings for 40 consecutive sittings without leave of the Assembly. However, the House did not process motions for de-seating legislators who had remained absent for more than 40 consecutive days during the 2014 protest against the government.
The rules for taking leave require lawmakers to submit an advance application to the Speaker for leave of absence. The enforcement of this rule remained weak as legislators did not incur any costs on disregarding it, which encourages the practice of remaining absent from the proceedings without notice. However, the examination of the assembly’s exact record suggests that at least 13 lawmakers never applied for their leave of absence out of which 12 of these lawmakers belong to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and one to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Federal Ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Khwaja Asif and Sheikh Aftab, Minister of State Usman Ibrahim, Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi are among the legislators whose applications for leave of absence were never called out during five years. Nevertheless, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker often had to perform important parliamentary duties in their chambers as well.
Beyond election observation
The low attendance often leads the opposition legislators invoking the quorum rule, which requires a minimum of one quarter of the total membership to be present in the House for taking up business. Lawmakers drew the attention of the House to the quorum 145 times during 130 sittings since the inauguration of the incumbent assembly. There were as many as 15 sittings, which witnessed multiple quorum identifications.
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A total of 100 sittings had to be suspended or adjourned due to the lack of quorum, while at 45 instances, the required number was completed on the first headcount. FAFEN’s parliamentary observation reveals that the quorum was visibly lacking at numerous occasions but was ignored by legislators as well as the Chair. According to FAFEN’s observation, 345 (74%) out of 468 sittings commenced and concluded with less than one-fourth of the House membership.
The Free and Fair Election Network said in a report on Sunday that the average attendance of National Assembly (NA) legislators declined by 13% over the last five years.
The analysis of the attendance patterns suggests that the decline in attendance rate is due to weak enforcement of parliamentary rules of procedures and general disinterest among political leaders to participate in parliamentary business
The annual average attendance per sitting declined from 222 (65%) legislators during the first year to 193 (56%) legislators during the fifth year. Similarly, the session-wise attendance average declined from 311 (91%) per sitting during the first session in June 2013 to 192 (56%) in the last NA session that was prorogued sine die in March 2018.
Each NA sitting was attended by an average of 60% legislators and only five sittings were attended by 301 or more legislators, while 42 sittings were attended by 251 to 300 legislators, according to the official record.
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A total of 212 sittings had an attendance between 201 and 250 legislators while 174 sittings had an attendance between 151 to 200 legislators, 33 sittings had an attendance between 101 and 150 legislators while two sittings were attended by less than 100 legislators.
The attendance also fluctuated on various weekdays. The average attendance on midweek days (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) is higher than the first and last working days of the week (Monday and Friday).
According to the FAFEN report, a comparison of the attendance patterns of legislators, the Prime Minister (PM) and the party Chief Whips (CW) reveals that average attendance declined during those sittings when the PM and the party CWs were absent.
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Moreover, the weak application of the parliamentary rules regarding leave of absence also seemed to have a negative impact on attendance. According to the rules of procedure, the lawmakers may lose their seats if they stay absent from the proceedings for 40 consecutive sittings without leave of the Assembly. However, the House did not process motions for de-seating legislators who had remained absent for more than 40 consecutive days during the 2014 protest against the government.
The rules for taking leave require lawmakers to submit an advance application to the Speaker for leave of absence. The enforcement of this rule remained weak as legislators did not incur any costs on disregarding it, which encourages the practice of remaining absent from the proceedings without notice. However, the examination of the assembly’s exact record suggests that at least 13 lawmakers never applied for their leave of absence out of which 12 of these lawmakers belong to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and one to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Federal Ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Khwaja Asif and Sheikh Aftab, Minister of State Usman Ibrahim, Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi are among the legislators whose applications for leave of absence were never called out during five years. Nevertheless, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker often had to perform important parliamentary duties in their chambers as well.
Beyond election observation
The low attendance often leads the opposition legislators invoking the quorum rule, which requires a minimum of one quarter of the total membership to be present in the House for taking up business. Lawmakers drew the attention of the House to the quorum 145 times during 130 sittings since the inauguration of the incumbent assembly. There were as many as 15 sittings, which witnessed multiple quorum identifications.
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A total of 100 sittings had to be suspended or adjourned due to the lack of quorum, while at 45 instances, the required number was completed on the first headcount. FAFEN’s parliamentary observation reveals that the quorum was visibly lacking at numerous occasions but was ignored by legislators as well as the Chair. According to FAFEN’s observation, 345 (74%) out of 468 sittings commenced and concluded with less than one-fourth of the House membership.