Veiseisei villager Timoci Nasilasila has called for the voting age to be raised to 21, as opposed to the current age of 18.
He told the Electoral Law Review consultation at Viseisei in Lautoka this week that he started voting in 1987 when he was 21.
“This new system has moved down the voting age to 18,” he said.
“If you look at their lifestyle, they are still children and they are not that mature in their perceptions and thoughts.”
Mr Nasilasila said reverting the voting age to 21 would ensure first-time voters were more mature in choosing the next government.
“Some of these youths are simply voting because they are following what their friends do.
“One of their group members could influence them to vote for a certain person.”
However, commission member Dr Wadan Narsey referred to suggestions that young people aged 18, 19 or 20 were able to drive a car, pay taxes and get married, which should mean they’re eligible to vote.
“So, the question I want to ask is if you can do all these other things, why should you not be allowed to vote for who represents you in government, especially when everywhere people are saying, we need to get the youth involved,” he said.
“What will you say to that argument, that you can be married, you can pay taxes, you can drive a car, they can kill somebody on the road driving the car, so why not give them the responsibility also of electing and voting in an election.”
Mr Nasilasila said regardless of those factors, experience and maturity were vital for voting.
