Outgoing parliament left 247 government bills and 388 lawmakers’ proposals unapproved

The outgoing parliament left 247 government bills and 388 lawmakers’ legislative proposals unapproved during its 2021-2026 term, while more than 12,000 written questions to the government went unanswered, according to a report by SimSim-Participation Citoyenne.

The report, based on official data published through Aug. 5, also found sharp differences in lawmakers’ attendance at legislative sessions, with participation falling to just 11.65% during one vote.

Only 46 of the House of Representatives’ 395 members attended the session to approve draft law No. 03.25 on collective investment undertakings in transferable securities.

By contrast, attendance peaked at 273 lawmakers, or 69.12%, during the first reading of the 2022 finance bill.

The government submitted 484 draft laws to the House of Representatives during the five-year term. Parliament approved 237, or 48.97%, leaving the remaining 247 without approval.

Lawmakers submitted 483 legislative proposals, but only 18 received parliamentary approval. Another 46 were rejected in plenary sessions and 32 were rejected in parliamentary committees, leaving 388 proposals unapproved.

The Haraki Group submitted the largest number of proposals, with 143, followed by the Socialist-Unionist Opposition Group with 109 and the Justice and Development parliamentary group with 68.

Despite the number of pending texts, parliament approved most of the legislation that passed with broad support. A total of 156 texts, representing 61.18% of approved legislation, passed unanimously, while 99 texts, or 38.82%, were approved by a majority.

Parliamentary oversight also left a substantial backlog.

Lawmakers submitted 32,093 written questions to the government during the 2021-2026 term. Government departments answered 19,871, or 61.92%, while 12,222 questions, representing 38.08%, remained unanswered, according to the report.

The response rate nevertheless improved compared with the two previous parliamentary terms. The report put the rate at 49.62% during the ninth term and 57.71% during the 10th, before rising to about 61.9% during the outgoing term.

Each of the House’s 395 members submitted an average of 82.29 written questions over the five-year period, reflecting the volume of oversight activity alongside the large number of questions still awaiting answers.