Alina Guadamuz proposes that the Supreme Electoral Tribunal charges the cost of the identity card after the sixth replacement request by the holder over a period of 10 years. The idea is not new, but the lawyer intends to stop complaints and find a solution.
My proposal is to amend Article 77th of the Organic Law of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which states that the ID is free. Human error or crime may cause the card to be lost once or twice, but more than 5 times in 10 years is excessive,”
said Guadamuz.
Seven thousand identity cards are storaged and unclaimed in the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, because the holders didn’t show up to collect them.
The record for the most replaced ID card is held by a 34-year-old man. Since he came of age, he has requested the replacement of the document on 110 occasions in 16 years.
Supreme Electoral Tribunal member María José Alvarado assures that if the project is passed, Costa Rica would not be the first country that charges for excessive replacement of identity card, since the measure is already in force in countries such as Panama.