ASTANA – Kazakh citizens can vote using digital identification documents (IDs), announced the country’s eGov portal on its Instagram page on March 10.
“Digital documents are equivalent to paper documents. Citizens can use the eGov mobile application to present an electronic version of the original voter identification document. The digital document is also available in the applications of the domestic banks, Kaspi and Halykbank,” reads the Instagram post.
In July 2022, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed legislation amending the law to make digital documents equivalent to paper documents.
The change affected electronic copies of identity cards, driver’s licenses, birth and marriage certificates, and other papers available through the eGov mobile app. Government institutions no longer require paper documents to save time and money on maintenance.
Kazakh citizens also used digital IDs to vote in the presidential election on Nov. 20 last year.
More than 12 million people have registered to vote in the upcoming election to the Mazhilis, the lower house of the Kazakh Parliament, and maslikhats, local representative bodies, which will take place this Sunday, March 19.