Ten cases were decided by the election tribunals during the month of September 2014 - bringing the total number of decided cases to 342 out of 4111 (316 out of 385 by the tribunals and 26 by the ECP itself). As many as 69 petitions are still awaiting decisions by the tribunals. Of the 342 cases, 153 (127 by the tribunals and 26 by the ECP itself) have been dismissed on grounds of technical deficiencies, implying that the merits of the petitions were not adjudicated on. Thirty-four petitions have been accepted; 22 dismissed due to non-prosecution; 29 dismissed as withdrawn and 74 dismissed after complete trial. The reasons for dismissal of 30 petitions are not known to FAFEN due to non-availability of their copies of orders despite continuous efforts to obtain them.
For the first time in Pakistan's electoral history, political parties are discussing the possibility and modus operandi of investigating the quality of General Elections 2013 with the purpose of determining whether they were “rigged”. Election audits are very rare, and such an investigation is a complex and technical task. Therefore, it is understandable that there have been delays in finalizing the scale and scope of the probe so that it is mutually agreeable to the political parties on both sides of the deadlock. There is no standard methodology or procedure to investigate an election.
Five cases were decided by the election tribunals between August 11-31, 2014 - bringing the total number of decided cases to 331 out of 410 (305 out of 384 by the tribunals and 26 by the ECP itself). Of the most recent five cases, only one was accepted while four were dismissed. Meanwhile, 79 petitions are still awaiting decisions by the tribunals.
As part of FAFEN's comprehensive election observation strategy, a long-term observation of critical processes and implementation of laws, rules and regulations was conducted between February and May 11, 2013 — the day elections were held. The observation was carried out at the district level prior to the announcement of the election schedule. Following the announcement of the schedule constituency level observation was initiated in 267 constituency to spearhead the pre-election observation exercise.
Only eight cases were decided by the election tribunals between July 01 and August 10, 2014 -bringing the total number of decided cases to 326 out of 410 (300 out of 384 by the tribunals and 26 by the ECP itself). Of the most recent eight cases, five were accepted while three were dismissed due to multiple reasons. On the other hand, 84 petitions are still awaiting decisions by the election tribunals.
There were 17 petitions decided in the month of June 2014 -sixteen by election tribunals and one by the ECP. However, given the backlog of pending petitions and the expiry of the tribunals’ tenure, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has extended the tenure of tribunals following their failure to resolve all post-election disputes within the legally-stipulated deadline. Overall, as many as 318(78%) out of the 410 cases have so far been decided by the tribunals and the ECP (292 out of 384 by tribunals and 26by ECP)while 92 (22%) petitions are still awaiting decisions.The ECP constituted 14 tribunals across the country following the 2013 elections to redress election-related complaints of contesting candidates.The tribunals were legally bound to decide each case within 120 days of its receipt.
The election tribunals established by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) have failed to redress post-election disputes within the legally-stipulated deadline. A year after the 2013 elections, nearly 27% (109 out of 410) petitions are still awaiting decisions. Meanwhile,73% (301 out of 410) cases have been decided by the tribunals and the ECP (276 out of 385 by tribunals and 25 by ECP). The ECP constituted 14 tribunals across the country following the 2013 elections to redress election-related complaints of contesting candidates. The election results were officially notified on May 22, 2013, following which the candidates were given until July 6 (45 days) to submit their petitions. The ECP received a total of 409 petitions,while one petition was filed directly with the Lahore Tribunal.
The election tribunals established by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) have fallen behind the legally-stipulated deadline to dispose of petitions in 124 out of 126 pending cases. As of April 30, 2014, only 69% (284 out of 410) of the post-election petitions were decided by the election tribunals and ECP (259 out of 385 by the tribunals and 25 by ECP itself).
The election tribunals established by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to redress post-election disputes have failed to dispose of as many as 150 out of 156 petitions within the legally-stipulated deadline.As of March 31, 2014, only 62%(254 of 410) of the post-election petitions were decided by the tribunals and the ECP (229 out of 385 by 14 tribunals and 25 by ECP). The ECP constituted 14 tribunals across the country following the 2013 General Elections to redress election-related complaints of contesting candidates. The election results were officially notified on May 22, 2013, following which the candidates were given until July 6 (45 days) to submit their petitions. The ECP received a total of 409 petitions,while one petition was filed directly with the Lahore Tribunal.
The election tribunals established by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to redress post-election disputes have fallen behind the legally-stipulated deadline to dispose of petitions in 184 out of the 190 pending cases.As of February 28, 2014, only 54%(220 out of 410) of the post-election disputes were decided by the tribunals and the ECP (195 out of 385 by tribunals and 25 by ECP). Meanwhile, the tribunal in Dera Ismail Khan has become the first to dispose of all the 13 petitions referred by the ECP. Its presiding officer is now hearing some of the petitions filed with the Peshawar tribunal which have been transferred by the ECP.
