The Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) reported on Sunday that election tribunals have made decisions on 30% of the petitions filed, leaving 70% of cases still unresolved.
According to Fafen’s report, tribunals in various regions have reviewed a total of 11 cases in January 2025, with tribunals in Bahawalpur and Karachi each resolving one petition. Of the 11 cases, six involved independent candidates supported by the PTI, four were from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and one was from the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP).
As of January 2025, election tribunals had issued verdicts on 112 election petitions. However, 108 of those cases were dismissed, while three petitions were accepted. One petition was dismissed due to the petitioner’s death, and a re-polling was ordered for three Balochistan Assembly seats.
Fafen highlighted that the tribunals in Balochistan had resolved 41 out of 51 petitions, while tribunals in Punjab had decided on 45 out of 192 petitions. In Sindh, 17 out of 83 petitions were resolved, and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nine out of 42 petitions were decided.
Regarding national assembly seats, tribunals have made decisions on 25 out of 123 petitions, and for provincial assembly seats, 87 out of 248 petitions have been resolved.
The Supreme Court has received 38 appeals challenging the decisions of election tribunals—24 from Balochistan, 10 from Punjab, and four from Sindh. So far, the Supreme Court has ruled on three appeals, accepting one and rejecting two.
Fafen also noted that legal challenges in Punjab had led to improvements in the speed of decision-making on election petitions.
