Jumblatt: Sectarian politics prevented lowering of voting age

Democratic Gathering bloc leader MP Walid Jumblatt told Al-Manar television on Monday that sectarian considerations led to the failure to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 in the parliament earlier in the day.

Sixty-six out of the 100 MPs who attended Monday’s parliamentary session abstained from voting on Article 21 of the constitution, which pertains to the legal voting age.

Jumblatt also said that the Democratic Gathering bloc decided to respect its diversity and allow its members to vote on the issue as they please.

The bloc members who are part of the Progressive Socialist Party voted with lowering the voting age, whereas the independent members abstained. (Now Lebanon)

Be beautiful and vote

A Lebanese activist holds a banner during a demonstration asking to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 near the Lebanese Parliament in Beirut February 22, 2010. Lebanese MPs voted against a proposal to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 during a parliamentary session held on Monday. The banner reads, “Be beautiful and vote. I am 18 years old, can i vote?” REUTERS/ Cynthia Karam

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