ISLAMABAD: The election tribunals have been given another extension till February 28, as most of them failed to dispose of the petitions related to the 2013 elections even after 15 months.

In June 2013, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) formed the tribunals to hear and decide the pleas of candidates within four months.

An official of the ECP told Dawn that the tribunals were formed on June 3, 2013, and required to complete the work in 120 days. The tribunals, comprising retired judges from the lower judiciary, were hired for one year and paid salaries equivalent to that of government officers in BPS-21.

In the past, there were instances in which the elections-related cases were left undecided by tribunals till the expiry of the tenures of the assemblies.

Nine of the 14 tribunals yet to dispose of about 45 election appeals

But for the first time, the decision to appoint retired judges as the heads of the tribunals had raised the hope that the petitions would not linger as having no routine judicial works the tribunals would hear the elections-related cases on a day-to-day basis.

This, however, could not happen and the tribunals failed to even decide half of the cases till June 2014, warranting an extension in their term till December 31.

With some 45 petitions still undecided, the tribunals have now been given another extension for two months.

At present, there are 45 undecided election petitions, including the four where Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) wanted the verification of the voters’ thumbprints.

These included the constituencies of Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif and Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq.

Initially, the number of the elections tribunals was 14 - five in Punjab and three each in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan. The three tribunals in Balochistan and one each in Sindh and KP have completed their work. At present, the number of the tribunals is nine. None of the five tribunals in Punjab could decide all the cases before them.

The tribunals granted hundreds of adjournments exceeding seven days in violation of a 2009 amendment to the Representation of Peoples’ Act 1976 and the directions of the ECP. The number of such adjournments comes to over 2000.

However, the ECP has not taken any action against the tribunals for violating the law on the plea that these were not under its administrative control. But experts believe that being the appointing authority the ECP was empowered to keep a check on the tribunals.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2015