Three short months after the 13th parliament was sworn in, an unofficial and arbitrary performance-monitoring exercise based on how MPs perform during parliamentary debates is already in full swing. But can you tell whether your MP is an effective or ineffective representative solely on the basis of how s/he performs during these debates? The answer is ‘no’ because more than 90 percent of an MP’s duties are discharged outside parliament – and not livestreamed on the BWParliament Facebook page.
While parliamentary debates constitute the most visible part of MPs’ duties, parliament sits for a combined total of less than four months in a year and with much shorter business days. However, in addition to the chamber of parliament where debates happen, there are three other important and complementary forums: the general assembly, party caucuses and parliamentary committees.
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