PES president Sergei Stanishev said:
“I am delighted that the government of Malta, led by Joseph Muscat, continues to enact a strong and progressive agenda. Lowering the voting age to 16 completes the important democratic reform initiated by Partit Laburista when they removed the bar on 16-17-year-olds voting in local elections, fulfilling a pledge made during the election campaign.
“It is important to fight voter abstention and strengthen the engagement of young people in politics, and removing the bar on 16-17-year-olds was identified by a PES working group in 2017 as one important way to do this. This is progressive politics in action: making the democratic process more inclusive, strengthening the rights of young people, and putting our trust in voters.”
The proposal was unanimously passed by the Maltese parliament yesterday, thanks to a cross-party consensus. Only one other EU country (Austria) has so far lowered the voting age to 16.