A proposal rolled out last month to lower the general election voting age to 16 has rekindled a debate started a few years back, with all the political parties immediately jumping on the bandwagon.

If the measure were to be introduced, the list of eligible voters would immediately rise by about 9,000, according to the latest electoral register, published last Friday.

While the idea has been floating around for some time, the first to make it an official recommendation was the Ministry for Family and Social Solidarity, in the draft National Children’s Policy document that was issued last month. It will remain open for public consultation until the end of October.

The proposal struck a chord, with many saying it was not bold enough, because it is only envisaged for 2023. So a number of organisations are pressuring the government to fast-track the measure and implement it in time for the next general election, less than two years away.

On the political front, the Nationalist Party and the Democratic Party have joined forces and presented a parliamentary motion to raise the issue in Parliament, which is due to reconvene tomorrow week.

The National Youth Council (KNŻ) was among the first to urge its adoption. “There is an old democratic principle which states that there should not be any taxation without representation. If we were to extend this principle to 16-year-olds, they should also be able to vote, since they are allowed to work and liable to pay taxes,” council president Michael Piccinino told this newspaper.

However, for this move to be successful, civic education should be part of compulsory schooling, so as to ensure young people understand the weight of their decision and vote responsibly, he said.

From a political perspective, the main disagreement is about the time frame, as all parties have expressed their backing in principle. The Labour Party and the government are insisting they have no electoral mandate to lower the voting age now, as this was not part of their 2013 manifesto.

However, it seems that not everyone in the party is in sync with this position. Last Wednesday, Labour’s Youth Forum president Alex Saliba endorsed a KNŻ statement calling for MPs’ support for the council’s proposal for 16-year-olds to vote in the 2018 general election.

Asked for the party’s official position, a Labour Party spokesman highlighted the fact that the Labour government had already granted voting rights to 16-year-olds in local council elections. In principle, it was in favour of extending the right to European Parliament and general elections, he said, adding that Joseph Muscat had set the ball rolling in a 2008 Times of Malta article.

Their active participation would be instrumental in putting youth issues and fresh, innovative ideas on the political agenda

“At the time, he was subject to criticism from a number of PN figures,” the spokesman said. PN leader Simon Busuttil had not proposed such a measure, despite having authored the last two party manifestos.

“Dr Busuttil seems to have finally realised that his position was simply out of touch.”

On the other side of the political spectrum, a PN spokesman pointed out that Dr Busuttil was the first leader to react to the KNŻ proposal, to the extent that the party presented a joint motion in Parliament.

“Talking about it or postponing it to 2023 is not good enough. For the Nationalist Party, youths are not just the future but the present, and therefore should be given the right to choose their government,” the spokesman said.

“We are pushing for a speedy agreement on this issue, and we hope that this matter is not turned into a politically divisive one.”

MP Marlene Farrugia, from the Democratic Party, believes that the move will address “the democratic deficit resulting from demographic shifts towards an ageing population, which, if unaddressed, can result in a distorted representation of the wider population”.

Dr Farrugia also pointed out that Austria, Switzerland, Scotland and some German states had already enfranchised their 16-year-olds for national elections.

“At that age, they can leave school, find jobs and pay taxes, among other things. It is only fair that they share the responsibility of the decision making which maps their present and future.”

She told this newspaper that such a move would encourage political awareness and participation from an early age, as well as foster a more sustained cognisance of political issues affecting young people.

“The infinite access to knowledge and information available renders youths a very well informed cohort, so their active participation would be instrumental in putting youth issues and fresh, innovative ideas on the political agenda.”

On its part, Alternattiva Demo-kratika, the Green Party, which is also in favour, makes the argument that the vote for 16-18-year-olds would help balance out the unequal representations that older generations have – generations whose lives have already been shaped.

“Youths should be trusted and given full voting rights, because through them, they are being empowered to fulfil their social participation and civic duty,” AD said.

Though for the time being the proposal is still on paper, the wide consensus among political forces suggests that its introduction is only a question of when rather than if.

Could kids be the kingmakers?

According to the latest Electoral Register, if an election were to be held now, about 9,000 citizens aged between 16 and 18 would become eligible to vote.

Bearing in mind that elections as recently as 2008 were won by a much smaller margin – 1,500 votes – could 16-year-olds alone tilt the balance of power?

Election analyst Herman Schiavone told this newspaper that so far there was very little research on this matter, so it was uncharted territory.

“Unless there was a specific survey targeting this age cohort, no conclusions could be reached.”

However, at such a tender age, parents’ political beliefs as well as peer pressure could have a large influence on the choices made by 16-year-olds, he said.

The debate so far

February 2013: In its manifesto, the Labour Party pledges to lower the voting age to 16 for local council elections.

May 2013: The new Labour government launches the Vote 16 awareness campaign.

November 2013: The House of Representatives unanimously approves a Bill enacting the changes.

April 2015: 16-year-olds vote for the first time in the local council elections. However, calls to extend this right to the spring hunting referendum held on the same day were not heeded by the government.

September 2016: The draft National Children’s Policy proposes extending the vote to general elections but not before 2023. The National Youth Council calls for it to be implemented in time for the 2018 general election. PN leader Simon Busuttil echoes the call in the Independence Day mass meeting, and a few days later, PN Whip David Agius and MP Marlene Farrugia from the Democratic Party file a formal request in a joint parliamentary motion.

Voting-age trends around the globe

In the 1970s, there was a widespread move to lower the voting age from 21 to 18. Today there is a movement to push the limit down further, to 16.

The debate originated at the turn of the millennium, when voting in some municipal elections in Germany was extended to 16-year-olds.

In 2007, Austria became the first EU member state to take the plunge and lower the voting age to 16, even for general elections.

Since then, 16-year-olds have been allowed to vote in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.

Subsequently, this right was exten-ded to the Scottish Parliament and local council elections. However, Luxembourg has resisted the change, and in a referendum held last year, 81 per cent rejected the move.

Outside Europe, Nicaragua is one of the few countries allowing 16-year-olds to vote, but it is worth noting that in a handful of countries, like Malaysia and Singapore, the age is still 21.

From student councils to general elections

To the casual observer, student council elections at the university and junior college are not the best poster children for youth participation, dominated as they are by a fierce, often uncritical rivalry between the satellites of the two major national parties.

The university students’ council (KSU) declined to comment on the Vote 16 proposal, as a formal position has not yet been decided upon. But 19-year old Kunsill Studenti Junior College (KSJC) president Keith Grima defended the involvement of students in the democratic process.

“Students are perfectly capable of making their own minds up,” he said. “The council elections are changing: more people are reading manifestos and waiting to make a decision, instead of just joining an organisation on the first day.”

Mr Grima, whose council backs the proposal, said widening the vote had worked well in local council elections last year, such that there was no reason it shouldn’t be extended to general elections.

“We already make very important decisions about our future at a young age,” he added.

“A lot of teenagers today are growing up with a higher level of responsibility and are exposed to different realities.”

Are they mature enough?

While the overwhelming majo-rity of experts support the proposal, criticism among the general public has tended to focus on whether 16-year-olds have the maturity and critical-thinking skills to make such a momentous decision.

But youth studies lecturer Maria Pisani believes the argument fails to give young people their dues and unfairly questions their intelligence and knowledge.

“Young people are no more likely to be easily swayed,” she told The Sunday Times of Malta. “In fact, they’re more likely to challenge the system, to refuse to accept party affiliation as a birthright.”

Many young people, Dr Pisani argues, pay tax and contribute to society, and should therefore be entitled to electoral representation.

Moreover, the perspective they bring to the table can contribute to the further democratisation of society. “A proposal like this can’t stand on its own: it should be supported by a strong educational component to ensure young voters understand the consequences for themselves and broader society – but that should be true for voters of all ages.”