AD agrees on 18-year-olds given immediate voting right

Malta would be joining other EU countries by giving the immediate right to 18-year-olds to vote, says AD

30 January 2012, 12:00am
by Duncan Barry

1 min read

In the EU, voting rights are tied to the attainment of majority age and not to eventual publication months later in an electoral register.

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Alternattiva Demokratika has backed a call by deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg to give the right to vote to those who turn 18 after the electoral register is updated.

AD spokesperson on EU and International Affairs Arnold Cassola said that "by giving Maltese voters the immediate right to vote on the day of their 18th birthday, Malta would be simply joining the majority of European countries."

"In the EU, voting rights are tied to the attainment of majority age and not to eventual publication months later in an electoral register. Indeed, AD, being the progressive party in Malta, has long been proposing that voters should be given the right to vote at local and European elections at the age of 16," Cassola added.

Michael Briguglio, AD chairperson, said: "AD supports democratization of Malta's electoral process including right to vote to 16-year-olds and to ensure all legal rights to Maltese living abroad. Democratisation includes electoral reform beyond the PNPL duopoly."