No electoral plea by PTI-backed candidates, or its main rivals, accepted so far

ISLAMABAD: Not a single petition filed by PTI-backed independent candidates, or its main rival parties, against February 8 polls rigging, including Form-47 controversy, has been accepted so far by election tribunals.

Out of 112 decided petitions, 38 were filed by PTI-backed independent candidates, 27 by Pakistan People’s Party and 16 by Pakistan Muslim League (N) before the election tribunals which were all dismissed, data acquired from Fafen reveals.

However, only three petitions were accepted by election tribunal and one was abated due to the petitioner’s death. The three accepted petitions pertained to Balochistan Assembly constituencies, leading to orders for re-polling in specific polling areas of PB-44 Quetta-VII, PB-45 Quetta-VIII and PB-36 Kalat.

Two petitions were filed by losing candidates of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan (JUIP) and one by National Party (NP) against two winners from Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarian (PPPP) and one from Balochistan Awami Party (BAP).

“Only three petitions have been accepted so far by the election tribunals. All the petitions by major political parties, including PTI-backed independent candidates, PMLN and PPPP, have been dismissed”, said National Coordinator Fafen Rasheed Chaudhry.

Out of total 38 petitions of PTI-backed independent candidates, 10 were filed for the national assembly, while 28 for provincial assemblies PTI-backed independent candidates of general elections.

All together, 371 petitions were filed for recounting of votes or re-polling from different constituencies of both national and provincial assemblies by all political parties which participated in the GE2024.

The data also reveals out of 112 decided petitions, 108 were dismissed which mostly pertained to PTI-backed independent candidates followed by PMLN and PPP candidates respectively.

The total petitions filed by PTI-backed independent candidates were 206, out of which 86 were for national assembly and 120 for provincial assemblies. 38 are decided until now and none favoured the PTI-backed independent candidates.

On the other hand, 16 decided petitions pertained to PMLN candidates, five of which were for national assembly and 11 for provincial assemblies. All were also dismissed.

The total petitions filed by PMLN candidates were 48 (15 for NA and 33 for PA). Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) candidates filed 27 petitions before the election tribunals. Until now, 13 are decided which are all dismissed.

Further, among the 108 dismissals, 43 were rejected on grounds of non-maintainability, nine withdrawn and 12 were dismissed due to non-prosecution. One petition was dismissed due to non-payment of required process fee, while another was dismissed following the returned candidate’s death.

Additionally, 20 petitions were rejected after a full trial. However, reasons for the dismissal of 22 petitions remain unknown due to unavailability of judgment copies.