Over a third of 2024 election petitions remain undecided after two years

ISLAMABAD: More than two years after the February 2024 general elections, election tribunals across the country have yet to decide 128 petitions, leaving over a third of the cases unresolved, according to a report by the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen).

Fafen said that by the end of April 2026, tribunals had disposed of 246 of the 374 petitions filed against the results of General Elections 2024, accounting for 66 per cent of the total. The petitions relate to 113 National Assembly constituencies and 236 provincial assembly constituencies.

Of the petitions concerning National Assembly seats, 73 out of 124 have been decided. For provincial assemblies, 173 out of 250 petitions have been disposed of.

Legal timeline exceeded

Under Section 142 of the Elections Act, candidates can challenge election results within 45 days of the gazette notification of a returned candidate. Section 148(5) requires election tribunals to decide each petition within 180 days of filing.

That statutory deadline expired in October 2024. Fafen noted that proceedings continuing beyond that period are subject to special conditions, including mandatory payment of costs for adjournments, recording of reasons when tribunals adjourn matters on their own, and the possible suspension of assembly membership if the delay is attributable to a returned candidate.

According to Fafen, no such suspensions have been recorded so far.

Disposal pace slows

Fafen said the pace of decisions has slowed in recent months. Its report noted that 171 petitions had been decided by July 31, 2025, when it issued its eighth update. In the following nine months, only 75 more petitions were decided, an average of eight per month.

That was lower than the average of 10 petitions per month recorded between February 2024 and July 2025.

Tribunal appointments in Punjab were delayed significantly, with only two tribunals functioning there until October 2024 because of a legal dispute between the Lahore High Court and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) over appointments. The Supreme Court upheld the ECP’s appeal on Sept 30, 2024, after which the ECP reconstituted eight tribunals for Punjab on Oct 3, 2024.

Provincial breakdown

Disposal rates differ widely across provinces. Balochistan has decided 49 of its 52 petitions, or 94 per cent. Punjab has disposed of 147 out of 192 petitions, or 77 per cent. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 26 of 43 petitions, or 60 per cent, have been decided, while Sindh has disposed of 24 out of 84 petitions, or 29 per cent.

Fafen said none of the petitions from Islamabad constituencies have been decided because litigation remains pending in the Islamabad High Court over the ECP’s transfer of election petitions from one tribunal to another.

Only one result overturned

Of the 246 petitions decided so far, tribunals dismissed 242 and accepted four. Fafen said all four accepted petitions were from Balochistan, where repolling was ordered at selected polling stations.

So far, only one result from General Elections 2024 has been overturned: NA-251 Sherani/Zhob/Killa Saifullah. In that case, the Supreme Court set aside the tribunal’s repolling order and declared the PkNAP candidate returned, holding that the Returning Officer had

deliberately and unlawfully altered the results of Form 45

Fafen said 123 of the 246 tribunal rulings have been challenged in the Supreme Court. Of those appeals, 18 have been decided so far, with three fully or partially accepted and 15 dismissed. The remaining 105 appeals are still pending.

By political affiliation, 64 appeals were filed by PTI-backed independents, 11 by PML-N, nine by unaffiliated independents, seven by JUIP, and three by PPPP.

Party-wise filing trends and access concerns

Among all contestants, PTI-backed independents filed the highest number of petitions at 206, making up 55 per cent of all cases. Their disposal rate stands at 60 per cent. PML-N candidates filed 48 petitions, of which 75 per cent have been decided. PPPP filed 28 petitions with a disposal rate of 61 per cent, while JUIP filed 25 petitions, 64 per cent of which have been decided.

Fafen also highlighted uneven public access to tribunal proceedings and records. Petition memos, hearing details and judgments are largely available in tribunals made up of sitting judges of the Sindh, Balochistan and Peshawar high courts.

In contrast, Punjab tribunals, which account for more than half of all cases, have provided only case-status information and have not made petition memos, judgments and related documents available. According to Fafen, this has left the reasons for dismissal in 63 cases unknown.