Estonia, Legislation, Society

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Thursday, 28.03.2024, 11:18

Estonian Riigikogu makes a step ahead for lowering voting age

BC, Tallinn, 17.09.2014.Print version
The Estonian Riigikogu discussed on Tuesday the bill of lowering the voting age, initiated by 41 MPs and completed the first reading of the draft law, LETA/Postimees Online reports.

According to the draft amendment to the Constitution, all the people who are at least 16 years of age would get the right to vote in local elections.

 

Kalvi Kõva (Social Democratic Party) who introduced the bill, noted that 22 years has passed since the text of the valid Constitution was compiled and the Estonian society has undergone considerable development. "The society has stabilized, evolved and matured. Our young people have also become considerably more mature, being better educated, more knowledgeable, more informed about matters of the society. However, their opportunities for designing their living environment have been limited," he reasoned.

 

MPs asked repeatedly why the bill prescribes granting voting right to younger people in local elections only, not the parliament and the European Parliament elections.

 

Kõva responded that when the draft law was being worked on, discussions were pretty thorough about that too, but in the end it was found that the extension of the voting right should be gradual. "I do not rule out the possibility that sometime we will come to that discussion too," he said.

 

Lowering the voting age requires the approval of two different sets of the parliament. The next local elections are in 2017 and by that time it is possible to enforce the law.






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