Democracy means people’s participation in the formation of their government, and the right to vote is directly linked to this process. Universal suffrage is now the legal norm across the civilized and free world.
There is talk of the 28th Amendment and raising the voting age from 18 to 25. No official position has been taken on that, but given the history of recent amendments, such an amendment could be passed overnight. The proposed amendment, if passed, would exclude millions of young voters from the decision-making process, the right to form government and deprive them of their constitutional and fundamental rights.
This experiment, if carried out, will certainly be a retrograde step that will add to the long and endless list of trials and errors made with the political system since the inception of Pakistan, essentially reflecting a distrust of the wisdom of the people and their choices. It would also be in direct conflict with the idea of Pakistan, which was based on the will and wisdom of the Muslims of the subcontinent who decided to have a free homeland where they would enjoy political and religious freedoms.
The Constitution of Pakistan, when it was framed and adopted in 1973, set the voting age at 21 under Article 51. There is no discussion of this issue in the long debates on the Constitution. The voting age, the census and the distribution of seats in the National Assembly that elects the Prime Minister under Article 91 are interrelated provisions that cannot be examined in isolation.
In 2002, the National Reconstruction Bureau of General (r) Tanveer Naqvi advised policy makers to take three critical and consequential steps to change the political scenario. All these things happened at the same time. They were: one, free and expand the electronic and social media. It was believed that free media would help counter the two major political parties, PPP and PML-N, by educating people through political discussions, debates and narratives. These political parties were thrown into the shadows in the wake of the military takeover in 1999. They were stripped of their party names and election symbols, among other things. The PML-N also faced the removal of its party offices and another political party was created by its defectors, leading its leadership into exile and the late Benazir Bhutto going into exile for the second time.
Second, lower the voting age from 21 to 18. It was believed that this move would dismantle the vote bank politics of these parties, which served an older section of the population. It was also believed that young, informed voters would outnumber older, aging voters. Thus, through the legal framework order, 2002 (LFO), the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 by amending section 51 of the constitution.
Thirdly, the educational qualification of having a BA degree was introduced in the Electoral Acts as a qualification for candidates for the National and Provincial Assemblies, the Senate and for local government officials, Nazis and Naib-Nazis. This led to several traditional politicians from non-existent educational institutions and religious seminaries obtaining fake degrees. Interestingly, a few years later, another Naqvi petitioned the Supreme Court and secured the disqualification of several members of the National and Provincial Assemblies and Nazis, despite the BA degree requirement having already been declared invalid by the Supreme Court.
Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), to which Pakistan is a signatory, provides that everyone has the right to participate in the process of forming government through voting based on the adult franchise. In 1971, the voting age was set at 18 in the United States. In Canada, the voting age has also been 18 since 1971. The same is the case in Australia, India and Bangladesh. The voting age of 18 is now almost a universal norm, and many countries in Europe and South America are even considering lowering it further to 16. The story of the voting age is really the story of political consciousness, human dignity and freedom.
From a constitutional point of view, the voting age is not only a constitutional and legal right as held by the Supreme Court of India and also cited in Pakistan cases which can be changed by amending Article 51 of the Constitution and part of the electoral laws. The voting age and the right to vote are directly linked to human dignity (Article 14) and the right to political freedom of association (Article 17). It is also linked to the socio-ethnic policies of the state and the principles of politics laid down in the constitution. The distribution of mandates in the assemblies and the demarcation process for elections are linked to this. In a federation where several factors are fundamental to cohesion and smooth functioning, the voting age is one such factor that must be carefully considered before any changes are made.
Dr. Sonja C Grover, Associate Editor of the International Journal of Human Rights, published a monograph entitled ‘Young People’s Human Rights and the Politics of Voting Age’. It is a comparative study of the laws and constitutions of different countries and deeply examines the factors involved in determining the voting age.
Under Islamic law, the age of legal responsibility (mukallaf) is fifteen lunar years. If a person becomes legally responsible for their actions and deeds, as well as their religious obligations, then there is no reason why they should not have the corresponding right to participate in the process of forming government. Islamic provisions are among the salient features of the constitution.
The age-old saying is that wisdom has nothing to do with age. The state collects taxes from minors, and taxes can only be collected by law. Therefore, logically, everyone must have the right to elect members of the national and provincial assemblies, taxation would be imposed without representation.
It is well known by the government and its policy makers that young people face difficulties and numerous social and economic problems. There is widespread unemployment. There are not enough places at secondary schools and universities. Parents are under enormous stress. The socio-economic gap between the privileged classes and common people has increased to such a level that unrest, frustration and other psychological pressures are causing considerable stress and strain.
Political parties in power and their leadership claim to represent the people of Pakistan. Under these circumstances, raising the voting age simply to cling to power by less than democratic means may ultimately prove counterproductive.
The author is an advocate of the Supreme Court and a former Additional Attorney General of Pakistan. He can be found at: [email protected]
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Pakinomist.tv’s editorial policy.
Originally published in The News
