Context
The Constitution of Pakistan passed unanimously by the National Assembly in April 1973 provides for a federal parliamentary system of government with a bicameral parliament comprised of two houses, the National Assembly and the Senate. The four main provinces Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh all have provincial assemblies. The National Assembly, Pakistan’s sovereign legislative body, makes laws for the federation. The adoption of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, in April 2010, and its entering into force on 1st July 2011, provided considerable autonomy to Pakistan's four provinces. It introduced fundamental changes in the political, fiscal and administrative balance between the federal and provincial governments, involving a far-reaching devolution and correcting anomalies of centralization and lack of democratic control. Devolution of authority to the provinces under the 18th Amendment, along with the subsequent peaceful political transitions in the 2013 and 2018 elections have led to increased hopes for democratic governance in Pakistan.
Parliaments have emerged as key institutions in the country and despite political agitation and capacity issues, there is growing consensus among all political parties and public institutions on strengthening the role of federal and provincial parliaments.The track record on legislation, oversight and representation varies among the assemblies with a major difference between the federal and provincial level; the federal assemblies showing a better performance than the provincial assemblies and further disparities in performance from province to province. Generally, the standing committees, especially at provincial level, are often not fully functional and in general secretariat resources are limited both at federal and provincial level. There is growing recognition among elected representatives that in order to create and deliver value, parliamentary assemblies’ support services must be strengthened. Noting that greater citizen participation is integral to achieving more representative, transparent institutions, there is also a perceived need for increased public participation in parliamentary processes.
The European Union (EU) has been engaged with the Federal Parliaments and Provincial Assemblies since 2012, with an emphasis on incremental and practical development support for democratic legislative process strengthening; through ‘IP3’ for the National Assembly (2012-2016) and subsequently, ‘SUBAI’ for the Provincial Assemblies (2016-2019). Through IP5, the focus will be on assessing and formalizing a programme of technical development assistance which will consider the best practices of the prior federal and provincial assembly support projects, whilst looking toward incremental steps to support Pakistan in consolidating its democratic development. To implement IP5, the unique Consortium of Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zussamenarbeit (GIZ) - a trusted global service provider with decades of exemplary development practice in international cooperation and PIPS- a national custodian of high-quality, accurate and result-oriented services to elected members and staff of the Legislatures in Pakistan, respectively, will promote the overall objectives of the Project in a manner befitting the expected outcomes of the EU and Stakeholders of the programme. Furthermore, PIPS will be instrumental in realizing the sustainability of the EU’s parliamentary strengthening initiatives, given its mandate of providing research and legislative process support to the country’s federal and provincial parliaments.
Objective
The Support to Parliamentary Development in Pakistan Programme-IP5 is a Project implemented by the Consortium of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zussamenarbeit (GIZ) and the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) on behalf of the European Union. The Project will be implemented in the Federal Parliaments (National Assembly and Senate) and four Provincial Assemblies over a duration of three years. IP5 aims to support the consolidation of parliamentary democracy in Pakistan through strengthening the federal and provincial parliaments in three strategic intervention areas:
(1) Enhanced legislative, oversight, budgetary and representation capacity
(2) Strengthened capacity for administration and support service
(3) Facilitated inclusive parliamentary processes, addressing socio-economic issues (i.e. poverty, hunger, health, education)
Approach
IP5 is expected to contribute to long term interventions that bring about sustainable impact in parliamentary development in Pakistan. Particular attention will be paid to inter-assembly collaboration in areas including institutional development, provision of parliamentary services, and key topics of common interest, such as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), work of Parliamentary Women Caucuses, Young Parliamentarian Fora, Parliamentary Friendship groups and support to the implementation of the key Election Observation Mission Recommendations from the Elections Observation Mission of 2018.
Result Area 1 will focus on assisting parliamentarians in making informed policies by providing technical support, professional development and orientation programs, and various intellectual and knowledge resources, so that they may be better equipped to meet their mandate with regard to their core functions – law-making, oversight, budget approval and representing citizens’ interests.
To enhance the capacities of the administrative and support services of the six beneficiary assembly secretariats, Result Area 2 will focus on the provision of tailored technical advice and trainings to support the establishment of legal and policy frameworks that are necessary in a modern parliament. Depending on the perceived need within parliaments, provision of IT and office equipment may be required to support the establishment of new units, such as training, library and research facilities.
As part of the overall process of Pakistan’s democratic consolidation and in order to strengthen decentralization and allow for public oversight and increased transparency, Result Area 3 will entail the outreach of the parliaments to the public at large, the media, civil society and youth. A specific focus will be on social issues that impact marginalized groups and women and girls disproportionately.
As part of the youth engagement component of Result Area 3, the Project will roll out the Young Parliamentary Associates Programme (YPA); a flagship initiative of the European Union, that will identify, recruit, train and place 32 young parliamentary associates to offer high quality research, legislative services and general support to the Members and Secretariat staff of the two federal parliaments and four provincial assemblies, in order to enhance their performance and functioning.