Yesterday, the Maltese Parliament approved a constitutional amendment which lowers the voting age in General Elections and European Parliament Elections to the age of 16. In a Press Release, Kunsill Nazzjonali taż-Żgħażagħ, expressed its satisfaction and thanked all stakeholders who worked hand in hand with the Council to reach this goal.
KNŻ expressed that “this move is surely a step in the right direction and KNZ believes that Malta should now increase it focus on a number of other issues in relation to youths’ rights.”
Moreover, KNŻ continued to emphasise the need for both formal and informal methods of education to increase knowledge-based civic education so as to increase vote 16’s effectiveness and recognition amongst the Maltese population in general. The Council also pointed out that there is a number of anomalies in Maltese law, namely the current sexual age of consent at the age of 18 and the current state of Maltese law, whereby youths are encouraged to become active citizens and involve themselves in voluntary organisation, whilst prohibiting voluntary organisations from registration if they allow the involvement of youths under the age of 18.
On Social Media, the European Youth Forum also wrote “today is a historic day not only for the country but also for young people across Europe.”