TNAG-1750-FCO40-2470-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-debates-1988 — Page 154

the view that lowering the age of entitlement to vote raised political and constitutional implications which would be better considered in a wider context. 136. Those who supported a lowering of the voting age said that, if persons aged to 20 years were to be regarded as adults for other purposes, there would be no valid reason to deprive them of the privilege to vote. They considered that allowing such young persons to vote in elections would improve their social responsibility and lend greater meaning to civic education. Others, however, took the view that persons aged 18 to 20 years might not generally have sufficient maturity and political sense to be able to exercise their voting rights judiciously. Some felt that civic education needed to be improved first. (For comparison, public comments on the recommendation to lower the age of majority generally to 18 years were also mixed, with most of the unfavourable comments directed at the lowering of the minimum age at which parental consent for marriage is not required.)

137. The options for 1988 are either to maintain the voting age at 21 years or to lower it to 18 years. In considering which option to adopt the following factors would seem to be relevant:

(a) it is estimated that there are about 290,000 persons aged 18 to 20 years in Hong Kong, representing about 5 per cent of the total population. If 15 per cent (an average proportion) is discounted for those who do not meet the residential requirement, some 250,000 persons would be eligible for registration as electors if the voting age became 18. It is difficult to estimate how many would actually register and vote; (b) under the existing systems of elections, lowering the voting age would increase the size of the electorate in respect of the District Boards and the Municipal Councils;

(c) young persons aged 18 to 20 years will either be working after leaving school, finishing vocational training, studying for their matriculation or studying in a post-secondary institution;

(d) most countries set the age of voting by reference to the age of majority. This is, however, not necessarily a reason at this stage for lowering the voting age in Hong Kong, which must form its own views on what is appropriate for its situation.

Age of Eligibility for Candidature

138. The discussion on voting age also addressed the question of the age for candidature. There was general agreement that, regardless of whether the former was lowered, the latter should remain at 21 years. It is reasonable to require that those seeking office should possess sufficient maturity to discharge the responsibilities which would fall to them if elected. It is also relevant that the residence requirement for candidates (10 years) is already higher than that for voters (7 years).

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