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Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Only 14% MNAs attend all sittings of 16th NA session
Two supplementary resolutions were adopted by the house which were about paying tributes to the sacrifices of the armed forces on Defence Day and condemning terrorism in Quetta and Mardan. PHOTO: FAFEN The 16th session of the National Assembly that spanned over 13 sittings between May 5 and 22, 2025, saw only 14% members making 100% attendance, while 9% of the members were absent during the entire session, the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) said in its report on Thursday. Fafen is a civil society network focused on strengthening democracy. It said in its latest report that consistent with the previous sessions, female attendance was generally higher than that of their male counterparts during the session last month. "The highest attendance was recorded during the first sitting, with 237 members (76%) present. During this sitting, the House suspended its regular agenda to discuss the recent Pakistan-India conflict," the report said. The lowest attendance was recorded during the last sitting, with 174 members (55%) present. This sitting was initially adjourned after just 13 minutes because of the lack of quorum. The House reconvened after 15 minutes and passed The Off the Grid (Captive Power Plants) Levy Bill, 2025. Fafen said that 150 members of the National Assembly (MNAs) skipped sittings without advance leave request; 118 (44%) submitted a leave application, including 25 (21%) in advance and 37 (31%) applied ex-post facto after returning from their leave. It added that 268 members (86%) missed at least one sitting during the current session. The report said that 16 female MNAs, including 14 on reserved seats, attended all the sittings, while five female MNAs, including two on the reserved seats, recorded zero attendance. Region-wise, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad Capital Territory lawmakers recorded the highest percentage of MNAs attending more than half of the sittings, it said, adding that majority of lawmakers from the SIC, the PML-N, the JUI, and independents attended more than half of the sittings. A lack of ministerial presence weakened legislative oversight, Fafen said in the report. Among the 29 federal ministers, who were expected to be present during the Question Hour to respond to queries from lawmakers, only 15 (52%) were marked present during the sittings.
Express Tribune
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Over 37% of election petitions decided
Two supplementary resolutions were adopted by the house which were about paying tributes to the sacrifices of the armed forces on Defence Day and condemning terrorism in Quetta and Mardan. PHOTO: FAFEN Between February 1 and April 20, 2025, election tribunals ruled on 24 petitions related to last year's general elections, bringing the total number of decided cases to 136about 37 per cent of all petitions currently being heard across the four provinces. According to the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), which has been systematically tracking 372 petitions filed with 23 election tribunals after the polls, decisions have been reached on 26 per cent of the challenges to National Assembly constituencies and 42 per cent of those concerning provincial assemblies. Of the 24 petitions decided, 21 were from Punjab, two from Balochistan and one from Sindh. In Punjab, two tribunals in Lahore decided eight cases, one in Rawalpindi decided seven, and one in Bahawalpur decided six. The two tribunals in Quetta disposed of one case each, while a tribunal in Karachi disposed of only one case. Meanwhile, no petitions from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa were decided during this period. Despite an increase in the number of petitions decided in Punjab as compared to previous months, the overall pace of decisions slowed down. The network observed that the slower pace of decisions may be attributed to four largely dysfunctional tribunals during the reporting period, including two in K-P, one in Punjab and the sole tribunal in the Islamabad Capital Territory. To date, Balochistan's three tribunals have collectively decided 43 (83 per cent) of the total 51 petitions filed for National and provincial constituencies in the province. Punjab's eight tribunals have decided 66 (34 per cent) of 192 petitions. Sindh's five tribunals have decided 18 (22 per cent) of 83 petitions. KP's six tribunals have decided nine (21 per cent) of 42 petitions. Out of 124 petitions challenging the results of NA constituencies, 33 (26 per cent) have been decided so far. Of these, 19 were from Punjab, eight from Balochistan, four from Sindh, and two from K-P. Out of 248 petitions challenging the results of provincial assembly constituencies, 103 (42 per cent) have been decided. These include 47 from Punjab, 35 from Balochistan, 14 from Sindh and seven from K-P. Out of the 136 petitions decided so far, 133 were dismissed and three were accepted. Among the 133 dismissals, 52 were dismissed on the grounds of non-maintainability, including 10 related to NA constituencies and 42 to provincial assemblies' constituencies. Another 21 were dismissed because the allegations could not be proven during the trial. These 21 included two for NA and 19 for provincial assemblies. Nine petitions were withdrawn, including four for the NA and five for provincial assemblies.
