Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has said he would support lowering the country’s voting age from 18 to 16 as part of the government’s ongoing constitutional reform process, arguing that today’s teenagers are informed enough to participate in shaping the country’s future.
The proposal was announced in a Facebook post on Saturday, where Magyar said he believed “the overwhelming majority of people under 18 are sufficiently prepared and informed to have a say in our common decisions.”
“For my part, during the constitutional drafting process, I would support reducing the voting age to 16,” the prime minister wrote.
Constitutional reform underway
Magyar linked the proposal to the broader constitutional overhaul launched by his government following April’s general election.
He said he was pleased to see what he described as the revival of Hungarian parliamentary democracy after years in which, according to him, parliament had been deliberately weakened under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Reflecting on his childhood, Magyar recalled watching parliamentary debates with his grandmother in the early 1990s after school and sports practice, saying those memories helped shape his appreciation for democratic institutions.
Criticism of previous leadership
The prime minister also criticised Hungary’s previous leadership, saying he hoped that only people genuinely committed to serving the country would hold high public office. In a pointed remark aimed at former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and current President Tamás Sulyok, Magyar wrote:
“Just because a clown enters a palace, it does not become a king: but the palace can become a circus.”
Election law reforms expected
The proposal comes as the government prepares a broader overhaul of Hungary’s electoral system. Earlier this week, Márton Melléthei-Barna, deputy leader of the ruling Tisza Party’s parliamentary group, said one of the government’s first priorities after adopting a new constitution (and likely securing its approval through a referendum) would be introducing a new electoral law.
According to him, the new legislation could be adopted within the next 18 to 24 months.
Magyar says young people are more engaged than ever
In his post, the prime minister also argued that public interest in politics has grown significantly since the change of government.
“I am proud that never before have so many people followed parliamentary sessions and taken an interest in public life,” he wrote, adding that politics had become “sexy” again and that young people increasingly felt they had a voice in shaping Hungary’s future.
He also said that the 12-year term limit for MPs, introduced under the recently adopted 17th constitutional amendment, could help restore higher standards in Hungarian public life by encouraging political renewal.
What this means for young Hungarians
If the proposal is ultimately adopted, Hungary would join a small but growing group of countries that allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in at least some elections. However, the change is still only a proposal and would need to be incorporated into the new constitution and related electoral legislation before taking effect.
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