After being uncertain about giving 16-year-olds voting rights for general elections, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has confirmed that Maltese 16-year-olds will be allowed to vote in national elections from 2019.

This is the first time in Malta’s history that 16-year-olds will be allowed to vote. Their first chance to vote will be in the upcoming MEP elections. After this, they will have the right to vote in the general elections.

The announcement was made during a visit to Giovanni Curmi post-secondary school in Naxxar where the Prime Minister said that the law allowing their right to vote will be brought in front of Parliament in March.

He also noted that this would lead to the inclusion of 8,000 new voters in the electoral register, all of which will be 16-year-olds. Malta will be the second European country to allow 16-year-olds to vote, following Austria.

This new law carries on from the pledges that Parliamentary Secretary Julia Farrugia Portelli had stated as priorities for the current administration earlier this year. 

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Johnathan Cilia

Johnathan is an award-winning Maltese journalist interested in social justice, politics, minority issues, music and food. Follow him at @supreofficialmt on Instagram, and send him news, food and music stories at [email protected]