Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Monday dismissed reports suggesting that the government was considering a proposal to raise the minimum voting age from 18 to 25.
“Why should we comment on rumours?… No such proposals are under our consideration,” Tarar said while responding to a question.
The debate emerged after Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah recently commented that a proposal to increase the voting age was currently under consideration during discussions related to the proposed 28th Constitutional Amendment.
“A person cannot contest an election until the age of 25, then […] if that is the case, the age for contesting elections should also be reduced to 18,” he said while speaking on Geo News‘ programme ‘Jirga’.
Under the prevailing election laws, a Pakistani citizen can be enrolled as a voter if they are at least 18 years of age on January 1 of the year in which electoral rolls are prepared or revised.
It is also required that the person is, or is deemed to be, a resident of the relevant electoral area in order to be registered as a voter there.
Earlier today, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, while reacting to the reports, said he did not believe the matter was a “serious proposal”.
“According to the United Nations, people between the ages of 15 and 29 are considered youth,” he told reporters in Parliament House, warning that depriving 18-year-olds of the right to vote would affect the democratic process.
Separately, JUI-F’s Kamran Murtaza said an 18-year-old should retain the right to vote if they are legally recognised as adults.
“If an 18-year-old person can get married, then they should also have the right to vote,” he said, adding that a person mature enough to understand marriage could also understand the law.
