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Resolution 1826 (2011) Final version
Expansion of democracy by lowering the voting age to 16
1. The Parliamentary Assembly has
discussed the issue of lowering the minimum age for voting on various occasions,
most recently in its Resolution
1630 (2008) on refreshing the youth agenda of the Council
of Europe.
2. Demographic evolution in Europe could lead to the increasing
marginalisation of young people in the political process, which
risks being dominated by issues primarily of interest to older people.
Such a development could endanger the stability of democracy at
a time when social cohesion is more important than ever.
3. The increasingly low turnout at elections throughout Europe,
in particular among the 18-24 age group, is also worrying for the
future of democracy. Research indicates that the longer young people
have to wait to participate in political life, the less engaged
they are when they are adults.
4. In 2007, Austria became the first member of the Council of
Europe and of the European Union and the first of the developed
world’s democracies to adopt a voting age of 16 for all municipal,
state and national elections. Germany has also lowered the voting
age in some Länder. The canton
of Glarus in Switzerland has lowered the voting age to 16 for local
and regional elections. The issue is being debated in the parliaments
of several other member states.
5. Recalling the numerous initiatives that already exist to promote
the participation of young people, whether through specific institutions
or by means of a co-management system, as laid down by Recommendation 1019 (1985)
on the participation of young people in political and institutional
life, the Assembly stresses the need to ensure that young people
are well prepared for their participation in civic life and emphasises
that:
5.1. the larger the share
of society taking part in elections, the greater the representativeness
of those elected;
5.2. 16 and 17 year-olds already have responsibilities within
society, but without having the right to vote;
5.3. better participation in voting will help to make young
people more aware of their responsibility for defining their position
and role in society;
5.4. better education for democratic citizenship must be provided
by education systems to enable future fully fledged citizens to
exercise their new rights;
5.5. schools can constitute a model for democratic participation
if students are involved in their decision-making process;
5.6. a voting age of 16 would be more conducive to a higher
turnout of first-time voters, and thus to a higher turnout overall.
6. Particular emphasis must also be placed on the principles
of democracy, which call for the participation of the largest possible
number of people in the political and decision-making process, on
the constant concern of all democrats to extend and improve the
democratic functioning of our societies, on the possibility of bringing new
blood into the electorate and thus giving greater room for the expression
of the concerns of the younger generation, on the importance of
effectively combating the growing danger of exclusion of young people
and on the desirability to do everything possible to facilitate
their integration into the structures of society.
7. The Assembly therefore calls on member states to:
7.1. create the necessary preconditions
for the participation of young people in civic life through education
and the promotion of community involvement;
7.2. investigate the possibility of lowering the voting age
to 16 years in all countries and for all kinds of elections;
7.3. examine the possibility of lowering the minimum age of
eligibility to stand for different kinds of elections (local and
regional bodies, parliament, senate, presidency) wherever this would
seem appropriate.