ISLAMABAD: The tribunals, formed to settle the disputes of last year’s general elections, have only decided 112 of the 371 disputes filed by candidates.

A report by the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) on Sunday analysed the status of petitions filed with 23 election tribunals across the country.

The three tribunals in Balochistan have decided 41 out of 51 disputes (80 per cent) filed with them, while the nine tribunals of Punjab have decided 45 out of 192 petitions (23pc).

Sindh’s five tribunals have resolved 17 out of 83 petitions (20pc), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s six tribunals have disposed of nine out of 42 petitions (21pc) and Islamabad’s sole tribunal has not decided any of the three disputes filed with it.

Fafen says 112 of 371 challenges filed by candidates disposed of

The tribunals have failed to decide the disputes within the 180-day deadline mandated by the Elections Act 2017.

Section 148(5) of the law states that the tribunal should conduct proceedings on a day-to-day basis without adjournments of more than seven days and decide the disputes within six months of their filing.

According to Fafen, the election tribunals decided 11 election petitions in January 2025 and dismissed all of them.

Nine of them were decided by three tribunals in Lahore, while the Bahawalpur and Karachi tribunals decided one petition each.

Among the decided petitions, six were filed by independent candidates backed by PTI, four by PML-N and one by an Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party candidate.

So far, 25 out of 123 or 20pc of petitions challenging the results of National Assembly constituencies have been decided, including 12 in Punjab, seven in Balochistan, four in Sindh, and two in KP, Fafen said.

The electoral dispute resolution process gained momentum in the last quarter of 2024, with 70 petitions being decided, primarily by the three Balochistan tribunals consisting of serving high court judges.

However, the progress slowed in January, likely due to winter vacations observed by the Balochistan High Court from December 26, 2024, to February 25, 2025, the report added.

In contrast, the disposal of petitions in Punjab picked up pace following prolonged delays caused by legal challenges to the tribunals.

Meanwhile, 87 out of 248 or 35pc of petitions challenging the results of provincial assemblies constituencies have been resolved.

These include 34 disputes over Balochistan Assembly constituencies, 33 over Punjab Assembly constituencies, 13 over Sindh Assembly constituencies and seven over KP Assembly constituencies.

According to the latest data, at least 38 tribunal decisions — 24 from Balochistan, 10 from Punjab, and four from Sindh — have been challenged in the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court has adjudicated three out of 38 appeals, accepting one and dismissing two. A decision is awaited on the remaining cases.

Of the 112 petitions decided by election tribunals, 108 were dismissed, three were accepted, and one was adjourned due to the petitioner’s death.

The three accepted petitions pertained to Balochistan Assembly constituencies, leading to orders for re-polling in specific polling areas of PB-44 Quetta-VII, PB-45 Quetta-VIII, and PB-36 Kalat.

Among the 108 dismissals, 43 were rejected on grounds of non-maintainability, 12 due to non-prosecution and nine were withdrawn.

One petition was dismissed due to non-payment of the required process fee, while another was dismissed following the winning candidate’s death.

Additionally, 20 petitions were rejected after a full trial. However, reasons for dismissing 22 petitions were unknown due to the unavailability of judgment copies.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2025