Amendments are being made to the law on assigning a PIN. How is this related to transgender transition?

Евгения Комарова • 19.01.2026, 11:12 • Society

On January 19, a meeting of the committee on science, education, and information technologies of the Jogorku Kenesh took place, during which a bill concerning amendments to the law on the assignment and change of personal identification numbers (PIN) for citizens was reviewed.

In the text of the current legislation, the grounds for changing the PIN are specified, including:

correction of the date of birth in accordance with civil status laws;
coincidence of identification numbers among several citizens;
errors in data regarding gender and date of birth;
application of norms related to the protection of the rights of participants in criminal proceedings;
exclusively - technical errors made before July 1, 2017.

The Cabinet of Ministers establishes the procedure for assigning and changing the PIN.

Deputy Seyidbek Atambaev emphasized that the bill protects the rights of citizens but also carries risks, as it may weaken the authority of the Jogorku Kenesh.

He noted that it is necessary to support the proposed changes, but the possible drawbacks should be discussed, such as the transfer of broad powers to the government. This could lead to potential changes in the grounds for changing the PIN without parliamentary involvement. "This will weaken parliamentary control," he added.

In response, First Deputy Minister of Digital Development Nursultan Kubanov stated that amendments to the law can also be made by the parliament.

Atambaev agreed but stressed the importance of ensuring parliamentary control over subordinate legislation so that the grounds for changing the PIN remain within the framework of technical and human rights norms. "The Cabinet must inform the Jogorku Kenesh about such changes," the deputy concluded.

Deputy Director of the State Institution "Kyzmat" Ernes Dosaliev reassured the deputies, indicating that the exclusion of the list of grounds from the law should not cause concern, as these norms will be outlined in subordinate acts.

He added that situations may arise that require urgent decisions, for example, in the case of transgender requests. "Recently, we received an application from a man who changed his gender. Before changing his PIN, this citizen will face difficulties in accessing services in Kyrgyzstan," noted Dosaliev.

According to him, it will take significant time to introduce gender norms into the law, while subordinate acts will allow for prompt resolution of citizens' issues.

Dosaliev noted that the current changes to the law meet the demands of the times, considering the increase in the number of transgender requests and other situations.

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