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Give more thought to lowering Singapore’s voting age to 18
The recent election saw a divergence in inter-generational satisfaction in electoral outcomes. A bigger voice for youth can narrow the satisfaction gap.
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The writer says that when young Singaporeans feel marginalised in politics and disengage from political participation, Singapore will be poorer for it.
ST PHOTO : KUA CHEE SIONG
Elvin Ong
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Over the past few years, there have been calls from some quarters to lower Singapore’s voting age to 18. They cite Singapore as one of the few states in the world where the minimum voting age is 21, highlighting a mismatch with existing legislation.
After all, 18-year-old Singaporeans can get married, do national service, be appointed as company directors and be polling and counting agents during elections.
