Identity Malta Denies Existence Of Faults In The ID Card System

Identity Malta (IM) is the government agency responsible for the administration of identification cards and documents, passports and work & residency permits. The agency has denied the existence of failures on its registry and has insisted that the system being used has been recently audited and found to be up to standard. Doubts were raised after it was found out that some individuals have two ID cards entitling them a corresponding number of voting documents.

A report from Malta Independent cited the presence of leaked documents from within the agency meaning that the ID card system might have collapsed. From a sample of 300 taken by the agency it was found out that 80 had multiple ID card numbers that were listed in the register.

On the other hand, Identity Malta has denied the claims because the most recent audit that was carried out by Ernst and Young and the European Telecommunications Standard Institute on behalf of the EU showed that the ID card system was up to standard.

Identity Malta further stressed that the leaked documents were not actually samples but an entire list of individuals that were assigned a provisional ID card. The provisional ID cards that were marked with “P” were issued to Maltese citizens who failed to produce a birth certificate. The agency confirmed that these individuals had the right to vote and that their number is actually 283 of whom 278 appeared in the latest electoral register.

According to a spokesperson from IM, their ID card system has no systematic faults. The National Identity Database Management Computer System requires double and triple checking of data before the identification cards go to an ID card printer. All software and hardware used by the system are up to international standards.

In addition to the ID cards marked P, there are also cards marked A which are issued to expats who are residents of Malta. These individuals are not allowed to vote in general elections. The A card can be changed to P after the individual has resided in Malta for 20 years or if married to a Maltese citizen but unable to acquire the original birth certificate from country of origin.