New Zealand withdraws bill allowing 16-year-olds to vote in local body elections

FILE PHOTO: A jogger runs along the seawall in Auckland September 26, 2011, with the city skyline in the background. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth/File Photo

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - The New Zealand government on Friday withdrew a bill that would have allowed sixteen year olds to vote in local government elections if it had passed.

New Zealand's highest court ruled in late 2022 that the country's current voting age of 18 was discriminatory, forcing parliament to discuss whether it should be lowered.