Panel discusses reduction of voting age from 21 to 18 years

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 16: The Legislative Committee of Parliament discussed several proposals, including modification to Law No. 35/1962 concerning the parliamentary elections to reduce the legal voting age from 21 to 18 years and imposing fees on remittances made by expatriates, reports Al-Rai daily.

Members of the committee, MPs Al-Humaidi Al-Subaih, Askar Al-Anzi and Khalid Al-Shatti did not conclude discussion on the aforementioned issues and resorted to legal opinion, which considered it unconstitutional to impose fees on the remittances of expatriates, but said amending the voting age from 12 to 18 years old is legitimate.

In a memorandum, the committee revealed the idea of amending the voting age is a noble one, as it aspires to enhance the participation of the youth in politics. It noted the proposal does not violate the Kuwaiti Constitution based on an agreement with civil society to change the electoral system to boost the participation of the youth in elections.

It stressed that stipulating 21 years as the minimum age of voting violates international treaties, citing the International Human Rights Treaty, which Kuwait is signatory to. It noted the treaties signed by Kuwaiti Government and approved by the National Assembly have become part of the basic laws of the country. It also countries like France, Germany, Egypt, Morocco and Jordan stipulate 18 years as the minimum voting age.