Kaljulaid MEP: logical to let 16-year-olds vote in both EP and Riigikogu elections
Estonia's Riigikogu constitutional committee has advanced a bill that would let 16-year-olds vote in European Parliament elections. MEP Marina Kaljurand supports the idea.
The constitutional committee of Estonia's Riigikogu has sent for final review a bill that would lower the age threshold for European Parliament elections — giving the right to vote from age 16 and the right to run for office from age 18. Currently those thresholds are 18 and 21 respectively. Supporters of the initiative argue the change would help engage the younger generation more actively in shaping the EU's future.
The European Union has no unified standard on the issue — each member state sets its own rules for citizen participation in elections. Currently, only residents of Austria, Germany, Belgium, Greece and Malta can vote before turning 18.
Young people's interests go beyond local life
Member of the European Parliament Marina Kaljurand noted that in Estonia, 16-year-olds can already vote in municipal elections, and she considers it a logical step to also let them help decide the composition of the national parliament and the European Parliament. She said young people's interests extend well beyond local matters to global issues such as the environment, employment, education and housing.
Kaljurand pointed out that 16-year-olds tend to turn out to vote quite actively, while the drop in electoral enthusiasm and turnout begins in the next age group — among 18-to-20-year-olds. She cited Brexit as an example, noting that young people largely did not vote in that referendum, and the decision was effectively made by their parents and grandparents, even though its consequences will affect young people for decades.
Critical thinking as protection against manipulation
Skeptics often worry that teenagers are more vulnerable to manipulation, since their main sources of information are social media and video platforms. Kaljurand responded that older generations are also susceptible to disinformation, and that the main defense should be developing media literacy — the ability to assess a news source's origin and credibility, which can be taught both at school and at home.
