Irakli Kobakhidze: At the 2024 parliamentary elections, the number of people who will have non-electronic ID cards will be a maximum of 500-1000 people

According to Georgian Dream Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze, all the identity cards issued before 2011 will lose their legal validity, more specifically, those issued before the so-called chip ID cards. Therefore, he said, all relevant people will need to replace their ID cards. Irakli Kobakhidze said the above after the meeting of members of the opposition and the majority and explained that they agreed on the mentioned issue at this meeting.

"As for the draft law, which was initiated by the European Socialists, this draft law itself does not lose its relevance due to the fact that according to this draft law, even those people who do not have electronic ID cards will have the right to vote. However, the number of such ID cards will be reduced to a minimum, conditionally, a maximum of 500-1000 people, no more. Based on what we agreed on today, the consultations will continue, but we essentially agreed that all ID cards issued before 2011, that is, before chip ID cards came into force, will lose their legal validity. Accordingly, all relevant persons will need to replace their ID cards. Therefore, at the 2024 parliamentary elections, the number of people who will have non-electronic ID cards will be a maximum of 500-1000 people," said Kobakhidze.

According to him, the current legislation does not allow people with non-electronic ID cards to vote. According to him, the initiative presented by the European Socialists grants the right to vote to people with non-electronic ID cards, which should remain so. Kobakhidze said Georgian Dream will support this initiative.

According to him, all the anxiety was related to the identity cards issued before 2011.

"All these ID cards will lose their legal validity, we will agree on the date, but conditionally from March 1, 230 thousand ID cards, as many as there are, will be canceled. Therefore, no one can vote with these ID cards. Therefore, there is no reason for anxiety anymore, but about 500 people will remain. Not only because of religious considerations, there are about 150 people in Georgia who cannot receive an electronic ID card due to health conditions. There are about 180 such people in total, 64 people do not take an electronic identity card due to religious considerations. In total, this number, when old identities are canceled, can increase to a maximum of 500. Therefore, the problem will be fully solved. On the one hand, we will support the initiative of the European Socialists, which gives the right to vote in the case of a non-electronic ID card, but with a condition that all old ID cards will be canceled. About 230,000 old ID cards will be canceled and no one will use them for election purposes," said Irakli Kobakhidze.