Between February 1 and April 20, 2025, election tribunals ruled on 24 petitions related to last year's general elections, bringing the total number of decided cases to 136about 37 per cent of all petitions currently being heard across the four provinces.
According to the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), which has been systematically tracking 372 petitions filed with 23 election tribunals after the polls, decisions have been reached on 26 per cent of the challenges to National Assembly constituencies and 42 per cent of those concerning provincial assemblies.
Of the 24 petitions decided, 21 were from Punjab, two from Balochistan and one from Sindh.
In Punjab, two tribunals in Lahore decided eight cases, one in Rawalpindi decided seven, and one in Bahawalpur decided six.
The two tribunals in Quetta disposed of one case each, while a tribunal in Karachi disposed of only one case.
Meanwhile, no petitions from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa were decided during this period.
Despite an increase in the number of petitions decided in Punjab as compared to previous months, the overall pace of decisions slowed down.
The network observed that the slower pace of decisions may be attributed to four largely dysfunctional tribunals during the reporting period, including two in K-P, one in Punjab and the sole tribunal in the Islamabad Capital Territory.
To date, Balochistan's three tribunals have collectively decided 43 (83 per cent) of the total 51 petitions filed for National and provincial constituencies in the province.
Punjab's eight tribunals have decided 66 (34 per cent) of 192 petitions. Sindh's five tribunals have decided 18 (22 per cent) of 83 petitions. KP's six tribunals have decided nine (21 per cent) of 42 petitions.
Out of 124 petitions challenging the results of NA constituencies, 33 (26 per cent) have been decided so far.
Of these, 19 were from Punjab, eight from Balochistan, four from Sindh, and two from K-P.
Out of 248 petitions challenging the results of provincial assembly constituencies, 103 (42 per cent) have been decided. These include 47 from Punjab, 35 from Balochistan, 14 from Sindh and seven from K-P.
Out of the 136 petitions decided so far, 133 were dismissed and three were accepted. Among the 133 dismissals, 52 were dismissed on the grounds of non-maintainability, including 10 related to NA constituencies and 42 to provincial assemblies' constituencies.
Another 21 were dismissed because the allegations could not be proven during the trial.
These 21 included two for NA and 19 for provincial assemblies. Nine petitions were withdrawn, including four for the NA and five for provincial assemblies.
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