Voter age tweak: myth or reality?

Experts believe any such attempt will damage PML-N

ISLAMABAD:

After the passage of the 26th and 27th constitutional amendments, there has been speculation about the 28th amendment. Among the ideas circulating, the one that has garnered the most attention and criticism is the suggestion to raise the voting age from 18 to 25 years.

This debate has triggered concern as it directly affects democratic participation and the political role of a predominantly young electorate.

The issue gained widespread political attention after Farhatullah Babar, a senior politician from the PPP, publicly criticised the proposal.

In an X post, he wrote: "Why this talk of raising the age of a voter to 25 years? The government must reject it outright if it is indeed behind it. Raising voters' age to 25 seems directed against a particular political leader, rightly or wrongly thought to be popular with the youth."

The speculations reached Kot Lakhpat Jail, where senior PTI leaders — detained under the 9 May violence cases, including Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed, and Omar Sarfaraz Cheema — wrote a letter publicly opposing the idea, speculating that "unnamed forces" were circulating it out of fear of the youth's political power.

While the debate was gaining momentum, Rana Sanaullah's comment sparked fears that something may be in the works.

When asked on a private TV channel, he said while no official discussions were underway, some people believe that if a person cannot contest elections until the age of 25, there is little reason for the voting age to remain at 18.

He added that the idea is being debated, and if there is a consensus, it could happen.

The public discourse got so out of hand that Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal came on record to call it baseless.

On Thursday, he posted a video on his X account clarifying the government's position, stating that "no such legislation [is] under consideration."

He added that while there is an emerging political discussion about raising the voting age, no formal bill has been tabled yet. He emphasized: "We have confidence in our youth, and we can't even think of depriving them of the right to vote."

Despite the government's categorical denial, the intensity of the discussion has revived questions about how Pakistan's voting age was originally determined.

About twenty years ago, Pakistan took a different approach to voting rights. In 2002, President General Pervez Musharraf lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 by issuing the Conduct of General Elections (Amendment) Order, 2002.

This change was presented as part of wider electoral reforms to increase democratic participation by giving younger people the right to vote. Since then, the voting age of 18 has remained intact and is now a regular part of Pakistan's election system.

To fully grasp the scope of this impact, it is helpful to look at the demographic data that quantifies how many young people would be directly affected by such a change.

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) data at the time of the general election in 2024, the total number of voters was around 128.58 million, with young voters numbering 56.86 million, ages 18–35, constituting 44.22% of the total electorate.

Of these, 24.66 million voters were aged 18–25. In light of these figures, it becomes evident that any proposed change to the voting age would affect not just a minor segment, but a substantial portion of the electorate.

Building on this, the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) has analysed the ECP's publicly available data to provide deeper insight into voter trends.

Fafen published detailed reports using ECP data from January 22, 2025, and December 30, 2025. It reports that the ECP added over 3.3 million new voters in 2025, about 9,113 new voters each day, based on district-level data.

The growing number of voters shows how the electorate is constantly changing, so any change to the voting age would have a big impact on both current and future voters.

Against this historical backdrop, analysts believe the debate is a non-starter. Ahmad Bilal Mehboob, president of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat), elaborated on this point while speaking with The Express Tribune.

He explained that "although Mr Ahsan Iqbal has strongly denied that any such proposal is under consideration, I feel the idea is a non-starter from the beginning. It will politically damage the government and further alienate the youth."

Mehboob further explained: "Voters in higher age brackets, except the 50+ cohort, also voted in greater percentages for the PTI compared to the PML-N and the PPP. So if the idea was to deprive the PTI of youth votes, it will not be accomplished."

Adding global context, he said, "It is contrary to the global trend, where voting age is being considered to be lowered to 15 years."

Mudassir Rizvi, Fafen spokesperson and election expert, echoed Ahsan Iqbal, saying it is more about disinformation than merit.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, he said: "It's more of a speculation than a debate. I would call it a classic case of disinformation apparently meant to provoke more than 20 million young men and women between 18 and 25 years of age."

He welcomed the categorical denial by a senior federal minister and emphasized the need to trace the origin of this disinformation rather than discussing the merit of a proposition that, if at all it exists, has no substance.