On Wednesday, before the second reading, the Saeima’s Public Administration and Local Government Committee rejected a proposal for amendments to the Law on the Election of Local Government Councils, which proposed granting minors aged 16 and older the right to vote in local elections.
The author of the proposal, Progressives political party member Ervins Labanovskis mentioned at the committee’s meeting that for years discussions have continued that the society in Latvia is little involved in public processes and the number of people who go to vote remains low.
Labanovskis, referring to the surveys, emphasized that at the same time only a small percentage of young people feel listened to by the municipality. “Democracy must be learned, the municipality should be the level at which it can be started,” he said.
He said that Estonia permitted 16-year-olds to vote in municipal elections, “and there was no catastrophe”.
Elīza Loja, a representative of the Latvian Youth Council, expressed the opinion that such a proposal should be supported, as examples from other countries show that in countries where young people can vote from the age of 16, there is an increased interest of young people in politics, as well as issues that are important for young people are raised more in such countries.
Loja stressed that municipalities are the places where young people are most likely to stay, so by electing from the age of 16, young people could have more influence on decisions that directly affect them.
Andrejs Ceļapīters, who does not belong to the Saeima factions, supports the proposal to allow 16-year-old to vote in municipal elections, adding that young people could also vote in the Saeima elections.
The Saeima committee rejected the proposal because the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia mentions, among other things, that members of local governments are to be elected by full-fledged citizens of Latvia.