Voting age could be lowered for all elections

Depending on the success of the Vote 16 campaign during local council elections, voting age may be lowered even for general elections, European Parliament elections and referenda.

In a meeting with the Vote 16 committee, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said he looked forward to see an increased participation by youths in society.

"The ball is now in the youth's court and it is up to them to score. If the next local council elections turn out to be a success, it could pave the way for other consultation fora," Muscat said.

The amendment to allow 16-year-olds to vote in the upcoming local councils elections will be presented to Parliament on 30 November to coincide with the 20th anniversary of local councils in Malta.

The debate, the Prime Minister said, would not stop there.

"We want Malta to be the country setting trends and not following them. This process has opened up another debate: should 16-year-olds be allowed to contest an election if we're giving them the right to vote?" Muscat said.

He also referred to the need to attract more women in the decision making process - something which will be discussed in the coming months during the convention on the constitution.

Muscat also urged the committee to embark on a series of educational and informative campaigns on Vote 16 and the right to vote.

The law lowering the voting age to 16 for local council elections is expected to pass by the end of year.