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Giving young people a voice
26/02/2010
First Minister Alex Salmond today highlighted proposals to allow young people to have their say on Scotland's future.
He outlined plans to lower the voting age while speaking to an audience of 16 - 24 year olds at the Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Forum Youth Summit which took place at Aberdeen Business School.
It follows yesterday's publication of the Scottish Government's draft Referendum Bill and consultation paper. The public consultation will, among other things, seek views on a proposal to give young Scots the right to vote in the Referendum.
The draft Bill would give Scots the opportunity to have their say on two questions:
- Whether the Scottish Parliament should have more devolved responsibility
- Whether there should be an additional extension of power to enable Scotland to become an independent country
The public consultation will seek views on the best option for the question on further devolution:
- Full devolution including fiscal autonomy (known as Devo Max)
- More limited proposals made by the Commission on Scottish Devolution (the Calman Commission)
First Minister Alex Salmond said:
"At the age of 16, Scots begin to accept the rights and responsibilities of adulthood such as getting married or serving in the armed forces. Denying 16 and 17 year-olds the right to vote risks our young citizens becoming disengaged from the political process at the very point that society offers these significant responsibilities.
"Reducing the voting age to 16 would encourage all of our young people to participate in Scotland's democratic processes and give them a real voice on matters that affect them, their families and communities.
"The Scottish Government believes that the voting age should be reduced to 16 for all elections. There is widespread, cross party support for the principle of lowering the voting age and European countries such as Austria, Germany and Switzerland have already put this into practice.
"We are setting an example in Scotland by allowing 16 year olds to stand and vote in the pilot health board elections set to run later this year but we would like to go even further and give every 16 and 17 year old the right to a say on their future and the future of their country."
The proposals in the public consultation state that 16 and 17 year olds will be eligible to vote in the Referendum provided they are on the electoral register on the date of the poll.
The Health Boards (Membership and Elections) (Scotland) Act 2009 was the first piece of Scottish legislation to allow for those aged 16 or over to vote in elections. The pilot Health Board elections are due to take place in Fife and Dumfries and Galloway on 10 June 2010.