The head of state noted that for the past 30 years, the issue of driver's licenses has changed little, and the licenses themselves were produced abroad with insufficient protection and low quality.
“Previously, our passports, ID cards, and driver's licenses were printed abroad. Their security measures were ineffective, and the quality left much to be desired. Since last year, we have established the production of all state documents at our enterprise 'Uchkun,'” said Japarov.
The president also added that now technical passports, driver's licenses, and vehicle registration plates are produced in Kyrgyzstan, and the quality of the new documents has significantly improved.
Fight Against Counterfeits
According to the president, there were previously recorded cases of the sale of counterfeit Kyrgyz documents among migrants in Russia and Kazakhstan. He noted that such documents continue to be used today.“There were cases where our ID passports and driver's licenses were forged and sold to migrants. To this day, such ID passports along with fake driver's licenses are still being used in Russia,” he added.
Japarov reported cases of the detention of terrorists possessing counterfeit Kyrgyz passports.
“These incidents negatively affect Kyrgyzstan's reputation and its international image. We will put an end to such phenomena, and the concept of 'fake passport' will become a thing of the past,” the president stated.
He emphasized that the state has decided to organize a free exchange of old driver's licenses and completely withdraw them from circulation to eliminate the possibility of their use both within the country and beyond its borders.
In addition, Japarov noted that there are facts that some citizens acquire fake driver's licenses in Russia and then return to Kyrgyzstan behind the wheel. In this regard, an inventory of all driver's licenses and other official documents is being conducted.
“The main goal of this work is to identify all illegal documents, restore order, and ensure the safety of citizens to maintain the international authority of the state,” he added.
Exceptions for Indefinite Licenses?
In response to questions about the validity periods, the president noted that all old ID cards and driver's licenses are subject to replacement, regardless of whether a person plans to travel abroad or simply use them within the country.“Some licenses are in such a condition that the surname and name are illegible, and the photograph is unrecognizable. Therefore, all indefinite licenses must be replaced,” emphasized Japarov.
He added that the exchange of driver's licenses is carried out without weekends, daily from 08:30 to 23:00. The president also reported that the exchange procedure has been simplified: previously, a medical certificate in form No. 083 was required for the replacement of indefinite licenses, but now this requirement has been abolished for this category of citizens.
Japarov clarified that a medical certificate is only necessary for those obtaining a driver's license for the first time.
Problems with "Tunduk"
The president also commented on the failures in the operation of the "Tunduk" portal, through which the replacement of driver's licenses is provided.According to him, in previous years, digitalization in the country developed only at the level of applications, while the technical infrastructure did not receive the necessary attention and investments, which led to the weakness of the servers.
Japarov reported that 122.5 million soms were allocated from the presidential fund for the modernization of the server infrastructure of "Tunduk," and 9.5 million soms from the republican budget for the first stage of modernization.
“The recent failure in the operation of 'Tunduk' was caused by a sharp increase in the number of users who were trying to log into the system simultaneously. This created a heavy load on the server, and it could not withstand it,” the president explained.
He added that work to resolve the issues will continue and urged citizens to replace old ID passports and driver's licenses with new ones.
