{"id":126094,"date":"2026-05-18T10:53:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T05:53:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=126094"},"modified":"2026-05-18T10:53:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T05:53:36","slug":"proposal-to-raise-voting-age-to-25-finds-few-takers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126094\/","title":{"rendered":"Proposal to raise voting age to 25 finds few takers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ISLAMABAD\/KARACHI(National Times)- Opposi\u00adtion and civil society voices have roundly criticised a proposal, floated an aide to the PM, to raise the minimum voting age from 18 to 25, calling it an undemocratic and panicked attempt to disenfranchise millions of young voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The backlash followed comments by Rana Sanaullah, adviser to the prime minister on political and public affairs, made during a recent appearance on Geo News<\/em><\/a> where he confirmed that a proposal to raise the voting age was being discussed as part of the potential 28th Constitutional Amendment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the proposal was aimed at aligning the voting age with the minimum age required to contest elections, which is also 25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf an individual cannot contest an election before the age of 25, then either the age to contest elections should be reduced to 18, or the voting age should be increased,\u201d he said, framing the issue as one of maturity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTwenty-five is considered the age at which an individual attains the maturity required to represent an organisation,\u201d Mr Sanaullah said. \u201cRepresentation and casting a vote are equal responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, he cautioned against interpreting the discussion as an \u2018official policy position\u2019. \u201cIt is under discussion, but that does not mean we are going to implement it, or that my party supports it,\u201d he added. \u201cIt is only a discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Old enough to fight, old enough to vote\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While swiftly condemning the proposal, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram described it as a \u201cmasterpiece of political panic masquerading as profound constitutional wisdom\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow extraordinarily convenient that the same ruling elite which happily recruits 18-year-olds to defend Pakistan\u2019s borders, permits them to marry, raise families, and toil in the economy, suddenly discovers these very citizens are far too immature to choose their government,\u201d Mr Akram said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne must admire such selective maturity available only when it threatens the dynastic throne.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that lowering the voting age to 18 became a global standard in the mid-to-late 20th century, driven by the principle of \u201cold enough to fight, old enough to vote,\u201d as seen with the 26th Amendment in the US during the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYet while the civilised world embraced the logic decades ago, our enlightened coalition now wishes to march boldly backwards straight into the arms of the UAE, the only outlier on Earth with a voting age of 25,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Akram linked the proposal to the significant youth support for PTI and its founder, Imran Khan. Such \u201clegal manoeuvrers\u201d would not sway young voters, he asserted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo matter what arbitrary age they conjure \u2014 25, 30, or even 50 \u2014 the youth of Pakistan will continue to vote overwhelmingly for PTI and the vision of Imran Khan,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Civil society fury<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposal also drew sharp criticism from civil society activists and researchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ali Hasnain, a researcher and economist at Lahore University of Management Sciences (Lums), posted a chart on X, citing Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data showing 30.1 million people in the 18-24 age bracket. \u201cThey are talking about disenfranchising 23.7 per cent of the voting-age population,\u201d Mr Hasnain wrote. \u201cThis sort of change shouldn\u2019t be possible in a democracy without a referendum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Activist Usama Khilji questioned the fairness of the proposal, writing on X: \u201cIf the regime wants to raise the voting age to 25, will under-25-year-olds also be exempt from taxes? There should be no taxes without representation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barrister Abuzar Salman Niazi described the proposal as a potential violation of international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRaising the voting age to 25 would not be democratic reform; it would be constitutional exclusion disguised as legislation,\u201d he wrote on X. \u201cArticle 25 of the ICCPR, to which Pakistan is a party, protects universal and equal suffrage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Niazi added that disenfranchising millions of voters \u2014 particularly given Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf\u2019s strong support among young people \u2014 \u201cwould appear less like reform and more like electoral engineering designed to reshape the electorate by excluding politically inconvenient voices\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Voting age law<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The voting age in Pakistan is governed by Article 106(2) of the Constitution under the section \u201cConstitution of Provincial Assemblies\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The article states that a person is eligible to vote if they are a citizen of Pakistan, at least 18 years old, registered on the electoral roll and not declared to be of unsound mind by a competent court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pakistan lowered <\/a>its voting age from 21 to 18 in 2002 under military ruler Pervez Musharraf, bringing it in line with most democracies worldwide. Any change would require a constitutional amendment, which needs a two-thirds majority in parliament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ISLAMABAD\/KARACHI(National Times)- Opposi\u00adtion and civil society voices have roundly criticised a proposal, floated an aide to the PM, to raise the minimum voting age from 18 to 25, calling it an undemocratic and panicked attempt to disenfranchise millions of young voters. The backlash followed comments by Rana Sanaullah, adviser to the prime minister on political […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nProposal to raise voting age to 25 finds few takers - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126094\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Proposal to raise voting age to 25 finds few takers - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ISLAMABAD\/KARACHI(National Times)- Opposi\u00adtion and civil society voices have roundly criticised a proposal, floated an aide to the PM, to raise the minimum voting age from 18 to 25, calling it an undemocratic and panicked attempt to disenfranchise millions of young voters. 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