In a landmark ruling, a New Zealand court has ruled that not allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to cast their vote amounted to age discrimination.
The court observed that protection against age discrimination in New Zealand begins at 16 and thus choosing 18 as the voting age showed discrimination.
Hours after the ruling, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the Kiwi lawmakers will have to take a vote to decide whether the voting age should be lowered or not.
“It is our view that this is an issue best placed to parliament for everyone to have their say,” said Ardern.
If New Zealand does manage to lower the voting age, it would join the likes of Austria, Malta, Brazil, Cuba and Ecuador where suffrage is granted to those 16 and above.
However, to make it happen, Ardern and her government will have to gain a supermajority in the parliament.
“I personally support a decrease in the voting age but it is not a matter simply for me or even the government,” Ardern said, before adding, “Any change in electoral law of this nature requires 75 per cent of parliamentarians’ support.”
According to reports, the ruling administration is expected to table the proposal in the parliament in the coming months. However, any change made regarding the rules will not be applicable until after next year’s general election.
The court was hearing a petition filed by a group called ‘Make It 16 campaign’. According to the campaigners, Monday’s decision was the culmination of a two-year case that the group fought – demanding that young voters be given the power to decide their future by voting on issues such as climate change, pandemic recovery decisions and more.
“This is history. The government and parliament cannot ignore such a clear legal and moral message. They must let us vote,” said Caeden Tipler, co-director of the Make It 16 campaign.
(With inputs from agencies)
