The Court saw no problems with the extension of the right to vote to 16 and 17-year-olds, but with the obligation for minors to register in advance. If the legislator believes that they are capable of forming a political opinion, then it is “not reasonably responsible” to make the exercise of the right to vote dependent on the requirement to submit an application to be registered on the electoral roll.
According to the Verlinden cabinet, the recovery law will follow the judgment. The obligation of prior registration is deleted, without affecting the fact that there is no obligation to vote for 16 and 17 year olds. The bill will be submitted to the Council of Ministers before it is introduced in Parliament.
In Le Soir, two constitutional specialists point out another distinction: unlike all other Belgians, 16 and 17 year olds are not obliged to vote, which they also believe is unconstitutional. But on Friday the Verlinden cabinet announced that it did not want to touch this.