• 128 contested seats leave lawmakers in limbo
• Legal deadline for deciding petitions expired in Oct 2024; tribunal disputes, reconstitution stall progress
• Punjab tribunals continue to withhold key judgements from public view
ISLAMABAD: More than two years after Pakistan’s general elections, dozens of lawmakers continue to hold office under a legal cloud as election tribunals have yet to adjudicate nearly one-third of all post-election legal challenges, according to a report by the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen).
The latest update from the Fafen reveals that by the end of April 2026, 128 election petitions were still awaiting a final decision. Election tribunals across the country have disposed of 246, or 66 per cent, of the 374 petitions filed to contest the results of the February 2024 elections.
The unresolved cases stem from challenges in 113 National Assembly and 236 Provincial Assembly constituencies. Of the cases concluded, 73 pertained to National Assembly seats and 173 to Provincial Assembly contests.
The continued delays exist despite a legally mandated deadline that expired in October 2024. Under the Elections Act, tribunals are required to decide each petition within 180 days of its filing.
Proceedings continuing beyond that period are subject to special conditions, including mandatory cost payments for adjournments, recorded reasons when tribunals adjourn cases on their own motion, and the possible suspension of assembly membership if delays are attributable to a returned candidate. FAFEN said no such suspensions had been recorded so far.
Slowed petition disposal
The pace of adjudication has slowed significantly in recent months, the report found. Between August 2025 and April 2026, tribunals decided only 75 petitions, an average of about eight per month. This marks a decline from the monthly average of 10 petitions decided in the 17 months following the elections.
A major contributor to the slowdown was a significant delay in the formation of tribunals in Punjab, Pakistan’s largest province.
A legal dispute between the Lahore High Court and the Election Commission of Pakistan meant only two tribunals were functional there until October 2024.
The matter was resolved after the Supreme Court upheld the ECP’s appeal, allowing the commission to reconstitute eight tribunals for the province on Oct 3, 2024.
Provincial disposal rates
Disposal rates vary sharply across the country. Balochistan has the highest rate, with 49 of 52 petitions or 94pc decided.
It is followed by Punjab at 77pc, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 60pc, and Sindh, which has the slowest pace with only 24 of 84 petitions or 29pc resolved. Meanwhile, litigation in the Islamabad High Court has stalled all petitions from the capital’s constituencies.
Of the 246 cases decided, tribunals have dismissed 242. Only four petitions, all from Balochistan, were accepted, resulting in orders for repolling at select polling stations.
So far, tribunals have overturned the result of only one constituency from the 2024 general elections: NA-251 Sherani-cum-Zhob-cum-Killa Saifullah.
Fafen also highlighted concerns about a lack of transparency, particularly in Punjab.
Unlike in other provinces, tribunals there have provided only case-status information while withholding key documents like petition memos and judgements, leaving the reasons for 63 dismissals unknown to the public.
Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2026
