Manual vote counting will delay the election results in the Saeima. By how much? The CEC responds 0 10

The decision made by the Saeima to count votes manually will slightly increase the cost of the electoral process, as people will have to work several hours longer; however, this increase will be insignificant, and the CEC has already taken it into account, noted Zviēdris.

No additional staff will be required for manual vote counting, but if necessary, employees can be redistributed if there is an overload at large polling stations. "This is possible, but there are currently no such plans," said the head of the CEC.

In response to the question of whether the use of electronic systems or manual counting increases the reliability of the count, Zviēdris noted that opinions on this matter differ, and both sides have strong arguments.

When asked about the potential risks of failures in the electronic online voter registration for the upcoming elections, Zviēdris replied that there are currently no signs of such problems, except for the recent uproar surrounding suspicions of fraud in IT procurement. "Of course, considering previous events, we keep in mind that there is a small, but existing probability," he said.

Zviēdris acknowledged that if there are problems with the electronic online register, the consequences would be much more serious — it would be necessary to revert to previous methods and find ways to distinguish between voters who have voted and those who have not, for example, by stamping passports or issuing voter identification cards, which could reduce turnout, and that is extremely undesirable.

Ultimately, if no electronic systems are operational, including the online voter register, the election results could be significantly delayed — up to a week, Zviēdris noted, expressing hope that such an "IT apocalypse" is unlikely. "If this happens, we will certainly make a statement, and then everything will be known," promised the head of the CEC.

As reported, the amendments to the Saeima election law adopted in March stipulate that votes will be counted manually in the upcoming parliamentary elections this fall. This call was made by the President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, pointing to the risks of influence through IT.

Rinkēvičs proposed manual vote counting after reviewing information from the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) about possible violations in IT procurements and their potential impact on the Saeima election process in 2026.

As part of the criminal proceedings initiated by the EPPO, the State Police detained 21 individuals on suspicion of fraud in IT procurements amounting to 1.5 million euros, including public officials.

The criminal case was initiated at the end of last year and classified under the articles of the Criminal Code regarding large-scale fraud committed by an organized group and the legalization of criminally obtained funds in large amounts by an organized group.

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

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