Online referendum begins for lowering voting age

The government has launched an online non-binding referendum, asking citizens whether or not the voting age should be lowered.

Voting is taking place via the new online platform announced by President Nikos Christodoulides in February, which has now come to be known as “Citizen Voice”.

Voters are posed two questions; whether they think the minimum voting age should be lowered from the currently stipulated 18 years old, and if they think it should be lowered to 16 or 17 years old.

Commissioner for citizens Panayiotis Palates told the Cyprus Mail voting will remain open until April 7, with the results of the referendum to be announced on April 9 at the Youth Board of Cyprus (Onek)’s awards ceremony.

The online system through which voting taking place can be accessed is located at citizenvoice.gov.cy, and is available in Greek, Turkish, and English.

Voters verify their eligibility to vote by entering the last four digits of their identity card and their date of birth, before being prompted to enter their mobile telephone number to receive a one-time password.

Once the one-time password has been entered, the page with the online “ballot paper” with the questions on it will load, and a vote can be submitted.

In a post on Instagram, Christodoulides said the process “protects voters’ anonymity, the security of their personal details, and the validity of the votes being cast.”

He added that voters’ personal details are encrypted in the system and are automatically deleted once the votes have been cast.

Interestingly, he also said in the Instagram post that the verification in place ensures that the person trying to vote has a right to do so, “that they are aged 17 and above”, suggesting that the government may have already made its mind up on the matter.

It is expected that other such online non-binding referenda will be held in the future, with Christodoulides saying in February that the government “sincerely believes in participatory democracy, that you must have a say and a role.”