Two years on, over a third of General Elections 2024 petitions await disposal

ISLAMABAD: More than two years after the General Elections of February 2024, election tribunals across Pakistan have yet to dispose of nearly a third of election petitions. As a result, dozens of lawmakers continue to hold office under a legal cloud with 128 cases still awaiting adjudication, according to the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen). By the end of April 2026, election tribunals had decided 246, or 66 per cent, of the 374 petitions filed against GE-2024 outcomes in 113 National Assembly and 236 Provincial Assembly constituencies. Of these, 73 out of 124 petitions pertaining to National Assembly constituencies and 173 out of 250 petitions about Provincial Assemblies have been disposed of. Under Section 142 of the Elections Act, candidates may contest election results within 45 days of the gazette notification of a returned candidate, while Section 148(5) requires tribunals to decide each petition within 180 days of filing. The legally prescribed timeline for disposing of petitions expired in October 2024. Tribunal proceedings beyond this window are subject to special conditions, including mandatory cost payments for adjournments, recorded reasons where tribunals adjourn cases on their own motion, and the potential suspension of assembly membership where delay is attributable to a returned candidate. According to Fafen, no such suspensions have been recorded to date. Pace slowing after Punjab delay According to the Fafen report, the pace of disposal has slowed in recent months. Compared with 171 petitions decided by July 31,2025 — when Fafen issued its eighth update – only 75 petitions have been decided over the subsequent nine months, averaging eight per month. This is below the monthly average of 10 petitions decided between February 2024 and July 2025. Tribunal appointments faced significant delays in Punjab, where only two tribunals functioned until October 2024 amid a legal tussle between the Lahore High Court and ECP over appointments. The Supreme