LAHORE: An election tribunal has held that non-compliance with mandatory provisions of the Elections Act, 2017, warrants the summary rejection of an election petition, citing a series of superior court judgements to dismiss the plea filed by incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Punjab President Dr Yasmin Rashid.
The detailed verdict was issued by an election tribunal headed by retired Justice Rana Zahid Mehmood in a petition challenging the victory of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from National Assembly constituency NA-130, Lahore, in the February 2024 general elections.
Dr Rashid, who contested as an independent candidate, had secured 104,491 votes and stood second to Mr Sharif, who was declared the winner with 179,312 votes. In her petition, she alleged systematic rigging, unlawful replacement of the returning officer and manipulation of election results. Her legal team claimed that based on Form-45 data, she had actually won the contest with 99,428 votes against Mr Sharif’s 78,533, giving her a lead of 20,895 votes.
The petition was argued on Dr Rashid’s behalf by a legal team led by senior advocate Ahmad Awais. However, counsel for Mr Sharif, Barrister Asadullah Chattha, raised multiple objections, pointing out what he described as fundamental statutory defects in the petition.
The tribunal observed that under Section 139(1) of the Elections Act, an election petition must be filed by the candidate in person. In this case, the petition was filed by Dr Rashid’s husband through a special power of attorney, rendering it non-compliant with the law.
The tribunal further noted that the petition was filed on April 16, 2024, which was 16 days beyond the statutory 45-day limitation period calculated from the publication of the official gazette notification. Additionally, the verification of the petition was found to be incomplete, as it did not specify the exact date in April 2024 when it was signed.
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Another critical lapse identified by the tribunal was the absence of an affidavit of service under Section 144 of the Act, which requires confirmation that copies of the petition and accompanying documents were dispatched to all respondents through registered post. The petitioner’s counsel attributed this omission to a human error or misplacement of the affidavit, urging the tribunal not to draw an adverse inference.
Rejecting this plea, the tribunal ruled that Section 145(1) of the Elections Act creates a legal bar, mandating the dismissal of any petition that fails to comply with Sections 142, 143 and 144. It held that adherence to statutory requirements was a condition precedent for entertaining an election challenge, regardless of the nature of the allegations.
The PTI leader was represented by a legal team led by senior lawyer Ahmad Awais.https://t.co/K4Yt1wWQEX
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) January 8, 2026
To support its conclusion, the tribunal relied on seven judgements of superior courts, including a 2019 verdict relating to a challenge against former prime minister Imran Khan’s 2018 election victory.
Concluding that the petition was filed through an attorney, beyond the limitation period and without mandatory service affidavits, the tribunal declared it legally untenable. The petition had earlier been dismissed through a short order on December 30, 2025.
