There are many things you can do in Samoa these days when reaching the age of 18. You can drive a car, get married if you are a male (female at 16) and even enter a bar and order an alcoholic drink. Many countries set the base legal age at 18 years old.

The common belief is, at 18 we supposedly gain control over our own actions and affairs and become responsible for the decisions we make. Also, the milestone age entitles someone to take part in something very important – voting in an election.

The police will charge you for an offence as an adult if you are over the age of 17 years. You are only a juvenile up until 17 years. But surprisingly, you have to wait until 21 years to have a say on what way the nations should move.

Under the Samoan Constitution, to vote you have to be over the age of 21 years old however when buying alcohol or cigarettes you just have to be over 18.

A Commission of Inquiry has recommended Samoa lower its voting age from 21 years to 18 so teens can cast their votes like their peers in the region.

The recommendation calling for Samoa's voting age to be reduced is part of the findings and recommendations of a COI which investigated the 2021 General Election and produced a report which is now before a parliamentary committee for deliberation.

The COI report referred to the age of 18 as being progressively recognised by the law for over 60 years in other jurisdictions to be eligible for most adult entitlements and obligations. It noted that at the age of 17, you can acquire a driver’s licence, an individual can get married legally at 18, make a will, register as an adult and be charged as an adult, be employed and receive wages and pay tax.

According to projections highlighted in the COI report, there will be additional 18-year-old voters in 2026 numbering over 9,000 new voters to add to Samoa's eligible voting population, if those aged 18 and above are given the approval to vote in 2026.

Reducing the legal voting age to 18 allows young people to take part in nation-building and decision making.

If you are an adult or parent, you have a duty to encourage young people at home to be an active participant in the decision-making, democratic and development processes of the country.

That includes elections and politics. Voting is not only a young person’s right. More importantly it is a duty one shares with other citizens. But voting, as it is, is a boring affair. Lining up to cast a vote is tiring (especially when you do it in the sun or rain).

It chews up time. It can be costly to those who have to travel long distances to cast a vote.

Sometimes we feel that voting is a waste of time and our votes would not change the way things are. Never feel that way. Your vote counts! To like it and find value in it, voting must become a habit and an 18-year-old should have a willingness to participate.

18 is the age when people become recognised as adults and they should have the right to vote during the elections. If 18-year-olds are allowed to get married, pay taxes, and join the military and police, then why can’t they vote.

These recommendations to reform the electoral system should be taken back to the people where their views should be taken into account and then a report on the recommended changes should be tabled in the proper political forum. Let us have a referendum on the topic.

On the other side of the spectrum, there are arguments that 18-year-olds should not vote because they are not interested in political issues and current affairs. Some believe that 18-year-olds have no interest in politics and are not educated well enough in politics to make an informed vote.

Some argue that despite the existence of legal limits for 18-year-olds – marriage, sex, paying taxes, getting a full-time job, is not enough to justify lowering the voting age.

Maybe we are failing to realise that these 18-year-olds will go on to become the future of Samoa. Hopefully by reducing the voter age, we will get to see what are the real-life issues that face the youth.

For now, these are just recommendations, if this recommendation turns into legislation, it will show what the government and members of parliament feel.

The young need a voice and voting will allow this.