The young people in the Republic of Moldova should have the right to vote from the age of 16, at least in some types of elections, such as the referendum, for example, or local elections. And this is because the national legislation provides a lot of rights, but also obligations for this age, including the right to work and the payment of taxes. Moreover, the experience of other states shows that persons who go to vote at a younger age remain more faithful to the electoral process, the chairman of the National Youth Council of Moldova Cristian Vizir stated in IPN’s public debate "The role of young people and youth organizations in the European integration process”.
"Studies show that since voting in some countries started to be implemented at the age of 16, these voters, who go to the polls from a younger age, remain more faithful to this process," said Cristian Vizir.
According to him, voting from the age of 16 can be introduced not necessarily for all types of elections. For example, in Belgium the young people can vote from the age of 16 in the elections to the European Parliament, while in Germany - only in local elections.
"It is an interesting phenomenon that needs to be studied. In parts, I think it should make a place for itself in the Republic of Moldova as well. We can start with the referendum or local elections because at this age many young people are still in their localities as they still study in high school. From the age of 16, the young people enjoy more rights, including to work. They have to pay taxes," said the chairman of the National Youth Council of Moldova.
Cristian Vizir noted that within the Council, he works with representatives of young people from other countries through European and international platforms. What they found is that there are enough young people who settled in European countries, but these have doubts about the need to join the EU. And it is normal to have differing opinions.
He also works with all the groups of young people, both those who support the European path of the Republic of Moldova and those who are skeptical about this. For example, they organized focus groups where they discussed with young people, got to know their opinions, including the ones that are categorically against integration. At the end of the debates, some changed their opinions, others remained with the same ideas because they do not always have access to true information. And this is because the young people are often easy to influence, including in the family.
"There are cases when a young person wants to go to Europe, but his parents block him. They tell him that the EU will not bring him anything good or that "it was better before". And this is where the internal struggle begins. This is normal because the young people are an easy audience to influence. Among those aged 18-35, there are many persons who go to vote for the first time and this creates a difficulty," said Cristian Vizir.
The public debate entitled "The role of young people and youth organizations in the European integration process" was staged as part of the project "IPN News Agency for Social Cohesion and Pro-European Moldova", funded by the IMS.
