• Rana Sanaullah hints move ‘under discussion’ for 28th Amendment
• Potential change seen as ‘exclusion of 23.7pc electorate or 30m youth’
• Legal expert warns of possible breach of international suffrage commitments
• PTI calls it ‘frantic and undemocratic’ political manoeuvre
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: Opposition 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 and public affairs, made during a recent appearance on Geo News where he confirmed that a proposal to raise the voting age was being discussed as part of the potential 28th Constitutional Amendment.
He said the proposal was aimed at aligning the voting age with the minimum age required to contest elections, which is also 25.
“If 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,” he said, framing the issue as one of maturity.
“Twenty-five is considered the age at which an individual attains the maturity required to represent an organisation,” Mr Sanaullah said. “Representation and casting a vote are equal responsibilities.”
However, he cautioned against interpreting the discussion as an ‘official policy position’. “It is under discussion, but that does not mean we are going to implement it, or that my party supports it,” he added. “It is only a discussion.”
‘Old enough to fight, old enough to vote’
While swiftly condemning the proposal, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram described it as a “masterpiece of political panic masquerading as profound constitutional wisdom”.
“How extraordinarily convenient that the same ruling elite which happily recruits 18-year-olds to defend Pakistan’s 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,” Mr Akram said.
“One must admire such selective maturity available only when it threatens the dynastic throne.”
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 “old enough to fight, old enough to vote,” as seen with the 26th Amendment in the US during the Vietnam War.
“Yet 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,” he said.
Mr Akram linked the proposal to the significant youth support for PTI and its founder, Imran Khan. Such “legal manoeuvrers” would not sway young voters, he asserted.
“No matter what arbitrary age they conjure — 25, 30, or even 50 — the youth of Pakistan will continue to vote overwhelmingly for PTI and the vision of Imran Khan,” he declared.
Civil society fury
The proposal also drew sharp criticism from civil society activists and researchers.
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. “They are talking about disenfranchising 23.7 per cent of the voting-age population,” Mr Hasnain wrote. “This sort of change shouldn’t be possible in a democracy without a referendum.”
Activist Usama Khilji questioned the fairness of the proposal, writing on X: “If 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.”
Barrister Abuzar Salman Niazi described the proposal as a potential violation of international law.
“Raising the voting age to 25 would not be democratic reform; it would be constitutional exclusion disguised as legislation,” he wrote on X. “Article 25 of the ICCPR, to which Pakistan is a party, protects universal and equal suffrage.”
Mr Niazi added that disenfranchising millions of voters — particularly given Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s strong support among young people — “would appear less like reform and more like electoral engineering designed to reshape the electorate by excluding politically inconvenient voices”.
Voting age law
The voting age in Pakistan is governed by Article 106(2) of the Constitution under the section “Constitution of Provincial Assemblies”.
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.
Pakistan lowered 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.
Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2026
