Compare Suffrage (2004) - Suffrage (2008)

Compare Suffrage (2004) with Suffrage (2008)

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	Suffrage (2004)	Suffrage (2008)
Austria	18 years of age; universal; compulsory for presidential elections	16 years of age; universal; note - reduced from 18 years of age in 2007
Bahrain	18 years of age; universal	20 years of age; universal
Bhutan	each family has one vote in village-level elections; note - in late 2003 Bhutan's legislature passed a new election law	18 years of age; universal
Brunei	none	18 years of age for village elections; universal
Burundi	NA years of age; universal adult	NA years of age; universal (adult)
Cook Islands	NA years of age; universal adult	NA years of age; universal (adult)
Djibouti	18 years of age; universal adult	18 years of age; universal
Dominican Republic	18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age note: members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote	18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age; note - members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote
East Timor	17 years of age; universal	-
Equatorial Guinea	18 years of age; universal adult	18 years of age; universal
French Guiana	18 years of age; universal	-
Gibraltar	18 years of age; universal, plus other UK subjects who have been residents six months or more	18 years of age; universal; and British citizens who have been residents six months or more
Guadeloupe	18 years of age; universal	-
Guatemala	18 years of age; universal (active duty members of the armed forces may not vote and are restricted to their barracks on election day)	18 years of age; universal; note - active duty members of the armed forces may not vote and are restricted to their barracks on election day
Hong Kong	direct election 18 years of age; universal for permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven years; indirect election limited to about 200,000 members of functional constituencies and an 800-member election committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies	direct election - 18 years of age for a number of non-executive positions; universal for permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven years; indirect election - limited to about 220,000 members of functional constituencies and an 800-member election committee drawn from broad regional groupings, central government bodies, and municipal organizations
Iran	15 years of age; universal	16 years of age; universal
Iraq	formerly 18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Isle of Man	18 years of age; universal	16 years of age; universal
Jersey	NA years of age; universal adult	18 years of age; universal
Korea, South	20 years of age; universal	19 years of age; universal
Kosovo	-	18 years of age; universal
Kuwait	adult males who have been naturalized for 30 years or more or have resided in Kuwait since before 1920 and their male descendants at age 21 note: only 10% of all citizens are eligible to vote; in 1996, naturalized citizens who do not meet the pre-1920 qualification but have been naturalized for 30 years were eligible to vote for the first time	NA years of age; universal (adult); note - males in the military or police are not allowed to vote; adult females were allowed to vote as of 16 May 2005; all voters must have been citizens for 20 years
Macau	direct election 18 years of age, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past seven years; indirect election limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" (257 are currently registered) and a 300-member Election Committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies	direct election 18 years of age for some non-executive positions, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past seven years; indirect election limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" (257 are currently registered) and a 300-member Election Committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies
Martinique	18 years of age; universal	-
Monaco	21 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Montenegro	-	18 years of age; universal
Oman	in Oman's most recent Majlis al-Shura elections in 2003, suffrage was universal for all Omanis over age 21 except for members of the military and security forces; the next Majlis al-Shura elections are scheduled for 2007	21 years of age; universal; note - members of the military and security forces are not allowed to vote
Peru	18 years of age; universal and compulsory until the age of 70; note - members of the military may not vote	18 years of age; universal and compulsory until the age of 70; note - for the first time in recent elections, members of the military and national police were eligible to vote in the 2006 elections
Reunion	18 years of age; universal	-
Rwanda	18 years of age; universal adult	18 years of age; universal
Saint Barthelemy	-	18 years of age, universal
Saint Martin	-	18 years of age, universal
Saudi Arabia	none adult male citizens age 21 or older note: voter registration began in November 2004 for partial municipal council elections scheduled nationwide for February through April 2005	21 years of age; male
Serbia	-	18 years of age; universal
Serbia and Montenegro	16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal	-
Sudan	17 years of age; universal, but noncompulsory	17 years of age; universal
Timor-Leste	-	17 years of age; universal
Togo	NA years of age; universal adult	NA years of age; universal (adult)
Tunisia	20 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal except for active government security forces (including the police and the military), people with mental disabilities, people who have served more than three months in prison (criminal cases only), and people given a suspended sentence of more than six months
Virgin Islands	18 years of age; universal; note - island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections	18 years of age; universal; island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections