Austria encourages teens to vote in general election
© AFP/File Dieter Nagl

VIENNA (AFP) - "Not many countries show much confidence in 16-year-olds. We've decided to prove to them that they can participate in democracy in their country and that it's something that concerns their future," said Youth Minister Andrea Kdolsky, explaining the unprecedented move of having under-18s vote.

A 2007 law lowers the voting age to 16 from 18, giving the vote to around 200,000 more young people. So far, 16-18 year-olds have only voted in regional elections.

Turnout in the last general election in October 2006 -- when the Social Democrat SPOe party won but not by a majority -- fell to 78.5 percent, from 84.3 percent in the previous election.

According to a poll by researcher Market, the SPOe is in the lead for the first time in several months, with 28 of intentions to vote compared with 26 percent for the conservative OeVP.

Another 20 percent said they planned to vote for the far-right FPOe, 13 percent for the environmentalist Greens, and 4.0 percent for the populist BZOe, according to the survey published in the News on Wednesday weekly,

An independent website, www.wahlkabine.at, has been set up to help undecided voters make up their minds.

©AFP