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1. Young people as voters

2. Young people as political representatives

Young people as voters

On 26 July 2016, the Greek Parliament voted to lower the minimum voting age from 18 to 17 years as part of a wider reform of Greece’s electoral laws. In particular, according to Article 1 of Law 4406/2016, 'Proportional Representation of political parties, expansion of the right to vote and other provisions on the election of deputies', all Greek citizens have the right to vote, including those who have completed their seventeenth year of age. Furthermore, according to Article 4, paragraph 2 of Presidential Decree 26/2012, for the purposes of this law, 1 January is considered as the date of birth for all individuals born within that year.

According to the same Presidential Decree, young personnel of the Greek Police, the Fire Brigade, and the Armed Forces, as well as the Coast Guard, who are registered on the electoral rolls of a municipality and are serving on the day of the announcement of elections in another municipality, may exercise their right to vote either in their municipality of registration or in the municipality where they are serving.

To the best of our knowledge, no data are available from official governmental sources regarding the turnout of young people in the most recent national, local, or European elections.

Young people as political representatives

The right to stand for election belongs to Greek citizens who, on the day of the election, have completed their twenty-fifth year of age and possess the legal capacity to vote. Age is confirmed by registration in the municipal register, and if further verification is required, it may be proven by a birth certificate. According to gov.gr, the official website of the Greek public administration, the legal requirements for citizens wishing to stand for election are as follows:

a) reside in Greece;

b) have attained the age of 25 and have the legal right to vote;

c) have not been deprived of the right to vote in Greece;

d) have not been deprived of the right to vote in their Member State of origin;

e) have resigned from any service or position that constitutes an impediment to election;

f) are not candidates for European Parliament elections in another EU Member State.

To the best of our knowledge, no official data are available regarding the number of young members of political parties. Moreover, following contact with the Human Resources department of the Greek Parliament, we were informed that the average age of Greek MPs is 54 years, with only two MPs under the age of 30 (one man and one woman), representing 0.67 per cent of the total.