Parliament yesterday unanimously approved two motions amending the General Elections Act and the Local Councils Act, granting 16-year-olds the right to vote in the 2015 local council elections.

The event coincided with the 20th anniversary of local councils.

Government whip David Agius said that the Opposition was in favour of the motions, and now the important thing was to educate and involve youths, in order to make it a truly holistic experience.

Parliamentary Secretary Josè Herrera said this was a historic day in the history of local councils.

Malta was only the second nation in the EU to grant voting rights to 16-year-olds.

The next natural step, he said, was the further emancipation of youths in local politics, hoping that perhaps these youths would participate fully and run for local council elections.

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