Zawaya

The lowering of the voting age should have little impact on the upcoming elections

By: Monia Ferjani

The decision of the Tunisian government to lower the voting age from 20 to 18 reflects a deep awareness of the requirements of the current phase. Unlike several neighboring countries, the Tunisian society is a young one, as shown by its population pyramid. According to the statistics of the year 2008, the age group ranging between 15 and 64 represents 69.7% of the total population of the country, people under 15 years of age represent 23.93%, while those over 65 years represent only 7%. Therefore, the importance of young people should not be underestimated.

Young people nowadays live the information revolution and follow it in great detail, and even master the use of communication technologies. This youth can no longer be ousted.

The effect of lowering the voting age on the presidential and legislative elections next October 2009 is another issue that won’t be clarified until we raise two questions that are extremely important and vital.

Firstly: Which youth are targeted by this amendment? Is it the constitutional and trained youth, who are prepared for the elections according to the options and directions of their party, or the opposition youth who reject the reality of the country’s politics, economy and social situation, or the Tunisian youth in general? Is it the educated youth, averagely educated youth, or school dropouts? Is it the satisfied and content youth or those seeking immigration by all means possible, legal or not? Is it the working or the unemployed youth?

If the constitutional youth is the target of this law in order to ensure a higher turnout, then the government will neglect the opposition youth, even if they do not belong to a particular opposition party. This category may surprise everyone and tip the balance leading to results that the government didn’t expect by passing this law.

Secondly: Has this legal procedure of lowering the voting age come in response to popular demand by the youth, or was it a dictated law without any claim?

If it came in response to popular demand, and the country has not experienced a youth movement of this kind and in this direction, it was probably a recommendation of a committee resulting from one of the ruling party’s seminars, and in this case the proposal does not represent the desire of all Tunisian youth.

And if the law was dictated without any claim, then it’s a preventive measure to address the low turnout that most third world governments suffer from, especially those with a non-changing political scene. History has shown that dictated laws are not as well-received as those that are the result of a bitter struggle.

In any case, I’m not expecting a direct and significant impact of this law on the forthcoming elections, not to mention that people aged between 18 and 20 are young students who are barely out of high school. Everyone knows that this period of one’s life is characterized by rejection of all authority and state institutions; therefore I do not think that the lowering of the voting age will change much or affect the presidential and legislative elections next October 2009.