The IT scandal may affect Latvia's electoral system: election results may take a week to arrive 0 13

In the Latvian television program "What is Happening in Latvia?" Zviēdris expressed hope that the issue of manual vote counting is clear to everyone.

At the same time, highlighting other possible risks, he noted that there are nine modules that can be divided even further. However, one of the most significant risks that could affect voters and politicians awaiting election results is the Electronic Online Voter Registry.

Zviēdris emphasized that there are currently no signs that the system will not work, but several action scenarios are planned in case such a situation arises.

"The worst that can happen, if no other law is changed, is that the election results will take longer to arrive, several days, possibly even a week," he admitted.

In response to a journalist's question, Čudars also acknowledged the presence of such a risk. He explained that both systems—the Electronic Online Voter Registry and the Election Platform Information System (VELIS)—functioned in previous elections. "And currently, the contract you mentioned provides for the improvement or adaptation of these systems for the Saeima elections in October..." the minister noted.

According to the minister, the question remains what will happen if circumstances arise regarding a specific company that prevent it from fulfilling its obligations.

Zviēdris added that every crisis has at least three solutions, including the use of voter identification cards.

Also in the program, commenting on the suspension of the Deputy Director of the State Agency for Digital Development (SADR), Director of the Administrative Department Arvis Širaks, the Deputy Director of the Agency for Electronic Governance Egita Rudzīte explained that the agency requested additional information about Širaks from law enforcement. To avoid hindering further work, Širaks has been suspended as he is involved in the public procurement process, she clarified.

Additionally, law enforcement has been requested for further information on various contracts.

"We are waiting, preferably until Friday, to understand whether we can continue this contract or if there are any restrictions," Rudzīte said.

In turn, Čudars, commenting on the suspension of the State Secretary of the Ministry of Smart Governance and Regional Development (MSGRD) Edvīns Balševics in a case investigated by the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) regarding the disclosure of confidential information, stated that the ministry has requested information from KNAB about the possibility of the state secretary continuing in his position. In particular, the bureau was asked if there are any restrictions and whether KNAB has information about possible disciplinary actions against this official.

In response to the question of whether the suspension of any other individuals, such as the director of SADR, was considered, the minister noted that such an option was considered. However, the circumstances and situation in his case and in the case of the suspended state secretary differ. In one case, it required suspension, while in the other, it did not, the minister said.

"I would like to point out that actions within the framework of a criminal process can vary. It is possible for a situation to arise where a person gives testimony without being assigned any procedural status. I want to emphasize that, based on the information I have at the moment, the statuses of these two individuals differ," he said.

As reported, the State Police (GP) has detained 21 individuals as part of a criminal process initiated by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) on suspicion of fraud in IT procurements amounting to 1.5 million euros, including public officials.

In this case, as a preventive measure, arrest has been applied to public procurement specialist Ainars Biders, former director of SADR Jorens Liopa, and owner and head of the "Corporate Solutions" group of companies Aigars Ceruss.

The Ministry of Transport this week suspended Biders from performing his official duties pending clarification of the circumstances.

The criminal process was initiated at the end of last year and is classified under the articles of the Criminal Law concerning large-scale fraud committed by an organized group and the legalization of criminally obtained funds on a large scale, committed by an organized group.

According to information obtained during the investigation, an organized group of individuals entered into an illegal secret agreement to pre-determine the winners in public procurements for at least six projects funded by the European Regional Development Fund, amounting to up to 1.5 million euros. There is suspicion that the contracts were illegally secured with the assistance of public officials, and the illegally obtained profits were distributed among the participants.

The EPPO press release noted that the implementation of some projects may also pose potential risks to national security, as they may affect elections and democratic processes.

Latvia's President Edgars Rinkēvičs, after reviewing the EPPO information about possible violations in IT procurements and their impact on the Saeima elections in 2026, emphasized on Monday that the information disclosed by the EPPO raises questions about the security of elections and the reliability of vote counting. He called for a decision on manual vote counting, without relying on IT systems. The Saeima plans to make a decision on this matter on Thursday.

The Latvian television program "de facto" reported that at the center of the criminal process initiated and controlled by the EPPO and investigated by the State Police's Economic Crime Unit is the competition conducted by SADR last year for "Consulting Services and Quality Supervision of Software Development and Documentation," the results of which led to a general agreement with SIA "Agile & Co," SIA "Corporate Consulting," "Ernst & Young Baltic," and "PricewaterhouseCoopers" as the leading supplier consortium.

The program reported that, according to the investigation, one of the central figures in the organized group is procurement specialist Biders, who once created the portal "iepirkumiem.lv." It is assumed that he developed the technical specification for the procurement, adapting it in such a way that specific companies would win.

"de facto" also reported that Liopa, as the head of the agency conducting the procurement, met with the owners and representatives of the involved companies after his suspension to negotiate the distribution of work.

The program indicated that one of the winners of the procurement—"Corporate Consulting"—is a subsidiary of Ceruss's enterprise, and he possibly negotiated with other group participants about the distribution of work.

Additionally, according to "de facto," the investigation believes that the group included IT specialist Ivars Šulcs, who is currently a member of the board of AS "Rīgas siltums." Furthermore, before the procurement was conducted, it is possible that the distribution of work was agreed upon by the head of IT consulting at "PricewaterhouseCoopers" Hāris Baranovs, director of the technology and cyber governance practice at "Ernst & Young Baltic" Rudīte Spriņģe-Karnīte, and board member of SIA "Agile & Co" Aigars Staks.

At the same time, the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau is investigating a case regarding the disclosure of confidential information, in which the State Secretary of MSGRD Balševics, a SADR official, and an entrepreneur are involved.

This week, MSGRD suspended Balševics from his position. Earlier, the ministry explained that he was suspended "in consideration of public interests in connection with publicly voiced information about possible involvement in the illegal transfer of restricted access information in the context of IT procurement."