Broad consensus exists among older teens that they should be allowed to vote in local council elections.
However, there is disagreement whether 16-year-olds would be prepared to contest an election.
A ‘Vote 16’ debate organised by the Youth Agency at Mcast yesterday proved to be a quiet affair, with members of the Labour-oriented student group Pulse and the Maltese Christian Democrat group SDM agreeing it is high time that the voting age was brought down by two years.
It is currently 18 years but the Government has promised that this will be lowered to 16 for local council elections.
“We are all able to vote responsibly at that age – we will finally be able to make our voices heard,” said Julia Sammut, 20, a member of SDM.
“However, I am personally against 16-year-olds standing as candidates as they would not have the actual maturity needed for top posts. It would be best if they are first involved in student councils and suchlike for experience,” she said.
Max Micallef, 19, said he would only agree to youngsters running for office if they had the right training beforehand. The students taking part in the debate felt that “on the whole” secondary education prepared them for the responsibility they would have to shoulder at the polling booth at age 16.
I am against 16-year-olds standing as candidates as they would not have the maturity needed for top posts
Junior College and university student councils are often dictated by the two main parties. However, students are not worried that different political ideologies are not explored at an age deemed to be experimental.
“The truth is that we are only 2,000 students,” said Ryan Portelli, 20. “It is the most hardworking students who are elected. Students don’t vote according to parties. In fact, there are no bloc votes and last year we had a bi-party council.”
Bernard Pollacco, a member of the student’s council at Mcast, said the legal aspect has to be taken into consideration.
“If a 16-year-old is elected, how can they sign cheques?” he asked.
Youth Parliamentary Secretary Stefan Buontempo said a vote at 16 would mean society would listen more to what young people have to say.
The change in law – a Labour electoral pledge emulating countries such as Austria and Germany – is set to take place on Wednesday, the 20th anniversary of local councils in Malta. If the Bill goes through it will mean an increase of 4.5 per cent in the electorate.
The debate was part of an ongoing campaign to provoke discussion and gauge the public’s feedback on this process, which could eventually lead to widening voting rights even further, if the young are actively participating. The provisions will enter into force from the 2015 local council elections.