The 13th National Assembly (2008 – present) did not show any specific improvement in its performance during the third parliamentary year, which concluded on March 16, 2011, as compared to the second parliamentary year, revealed a report compiled by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat).
Overall, however, the 13th Assembly has performed significantly better compared to the 12th National Assembly (2002-2007) in terms of legislation passed and the ordinance to bills ratio, the report added.
The assembly achieved an overall score of 44% in an evaluation of the third parliamentary year (2010-2011) performance against an evaluation framework developed by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the report added.
Strengths
Repeated military interventions in democracy are responsible for stunted growth of democratic institutions, said Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Senator Maula Bakhsh Chandio, while speaking at a discussion on parliament’s performance on Thursday.
The parliament’s evaluation reflects combined performance of the treasury and the opposition benches, the law minister said, adding that the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party is proud of the fact that for the first time, chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee, and other standing committees, is given to the opposition.
Major highlights of the assembly’s performance during its third year were the passage of the 19th Amendment and the Amendment to the Rules of Procedure regarding the removal of the Leader of Opposition, the report noted.
It also commended the Public Accounts Committee, which held an average of 34 meetings per year during the past three years .
Weaknesses
The failure of the assembly to pass an effective accountability law during the past three years remains its greatest failure, the report notes. Despite promises by the government and demands from across the political spectrum, the house has failed to institute required reforms in the parliamentary budget process, said Executive Director Pildat Ahmed Bilal Mehboob.
The role of assembly in analysing the national budget remains ineffective with no role for the parliamentary committees in the budget process, he added.
Working days, hours and attendance
According to Article 54 (2) of the Constitution, the National Assembly has to meet for a minimum of 130 days in a year. The total number of working days and hours the assembly has met in each of its parliamentary year, and the average attendance of parliamentarians is:
Bills passed
The 13th National Assembly, on an average, passed 20 bills every year compared to the 12th National Assembly which passed an average of 10 bills per year during its 5-year term. The number of bills passed every year are:
Ordinances
The 13th National Assembly issued 1.4 ordinances for every law passed compared 2.5 ordinances issued against every bill passed by the 12th National Assembly. The number of ordinances laid in front of the house every year, and ordinance to bill (OB) ratio is:
Questions
A persistently low percentage of questions answered has led to a decrease in number of questions asked by lawmakers. Year-wise breakdown of questions asked, and percentage answered, are:
Evaluation report
This evaluation is based on the score card developed by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the scores have been assigned based on the value judgement of an evaluation group consisting of 30 members including parliamentarians representing various political parties, journalists who cover the proceedings of the assembly and analysts.
Attendance by the prime minister
The prime minister attended the Assembly for a record 99 days during the 3rd year, which means he attended 95% of the sittings compared to 87% during the 2nd year.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2011.
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