Democracy means the participation of the people in the formation of their government and the right to vote is directly related to this process. Universal suffrage is now the legal norm throughout 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 this, but given the history of recent amendments, such an amendment can be passed overnight. The proposed amendment, if enacted, will exclude millions of young voters from the decision-making process and the right to form government and deprive them of their constitutional and fundamental rights.
This experiment, if carried out, will definitely be a regressive step that will add to the long and endless list of trials and errors committed with the political system since the creation of Pakistan, essentially reflecting a distrust in the wisdom of the people and their choices. It would also be in direct conflict with the idea of Pakistan, which is 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 drafted and adopted in 1973, set the voting age at 21 years under Article 51. There is no discussion on 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 interconnected provisions that cannot be examined in isolation.
In 2002, General (r) Tanveer Naqvi’s Office of National Reconstruction advised policymakers to take three critical and momentous steps to change the political scenario. All of these things happened at the same time. They were: one, free and expand electronic and social media. It was believed that free media would help counter the two main political parties, PPP and PML-N, by educating people through political discussions, debates and narratives. These political parties were left in the shadows after the military coup of 1999. They were deprived, among other things, of their party names and electoral symbols. The PML-N also faced dispossession of its party offices and another political party was created from its defectors, driving its leaders into exile, with the late Benazir Bhutto going into exile for the second time.
Second, lower the voting age from 21 to 18. This move was believed to dismantle the vote bank politics of these parties, which catered to a larger segment of the population. It was also believed that young, informed voters would outnumber older voters. Thus, through the Legal Framework Order of 2002 (LFO), the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 years by modifying article 51 of the Constitution.
Third, the educational requirement of holding a bachelor’s degree was introduced in the electoral laws as a requirement for candidates for national and provincial assemblies, the Senate and for local government officials, nazims and naib nazims. This led to several traditional politicians obtaining fake degrees from non-existent educational institutions and religious seminaries. 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, even though the bachelor’s degree requirement had already been declared void by the Supreme Court.
Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), to which Pakistan is a signatory, states that everyone has the right to participate in the process of forming the government through voting based on the right of adults to vote. 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 true 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 history of the voting age is, in fact, the history of political consciousness, human dignity, and freedom.
From a constitutional point of view, voting age is not simply a constitutional and legal right, as held by the Supreme Court of India and also cited in Pakistani cases, which can be changed by amending Article 51 of the Constitution and a section of the electoral laws. The voting age and the right to vote are directly related to human dignity (article 14) and the right to freedom of political association (article 17). It is also related to the socio-ethnic policies of the State and the political principles established in the Constitution. The distribution of seats in the assemblies and the delimitation process of the elections are linked to it. In a federation, where several factors are essential for cohesion and smooth functioning, the voting age is one of those factors that needs careful consideration before making any changes.
Dr. Sonja C Grover, Associate Editor of the International Journal of Human Rights, published a monograph titled “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 examines in depth the factors involved in determining the voting age.
According to Islamic law, the age of legal responsibility (mukallaf) is fifteen lunar years. If a person becomes legally responsible for his acts and deeds, as well as his religious obligations, then there is no reason why he should not have the corresponding right to participate in the government formation process. Islamic provisions are among the most prominent features of the constitution.
The old saying goes 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 should 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 political circles that young people face difficulties and numerous social and economic problems. There is widespread unemployment. There are not enough places in schools and universities. Parents are under tremendous stress. The socio-economic gap between the privileged classes and the common people has increased to such an extent that discomfort, frustration and other psychological pressures are causing significant stress and tension.
The ruling political parties and their leaders claim to represent the people of Pakistan. In these circumstances, raising the voting age simply to cling to power through undemocratic means may ultimately prove counterproductive.
The author is a Supreme Court lawyer and former additional attorney general of Pakistan. He can be contacted at: [email protected]
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of PakGazette.tv.
Originally published in The News
