The Minister of Smart Governance and Regional Development Raimonds Chudars ("New Unity") expressed hope that as a result of the last-minute replacement of the election platform developer, it will be possible to ensure the operation of almost all IT systems used in the previous elections to the Saeima, LETA reports.
In an interview with the program "Morning Panorama," he stated that the contract with the IT company "RIX Technologies" was terminated in accordance with regulatory requirements and obligations, and there is no risk of losing a lawsuit if the company decides to sue the state.
On Tuesday, the government plans to review an informational report from the Ministry of Smart Governance and Regional Development on improving the electoral platform for the upcoming elections to the Saeima in the autumn. Chudars reported that the work is planned to be divided among three previously mentioned companies, each of which will be responsible for its modules of the system. Only citizens of Latvia who meet security requirements will be allowed to program.
As previously reported by LETA, the State Agency for Digital Development (SADR) terminated the contract with "RIX Technologies" last week for the improvement of the electoral platform.
Accordingly, the ministry proposed to transfer the development of the electoral system to enterprises that are fully or partially state-owned — "Latvijas mobilais telefons," "Tet," and "Latvijas valsts meži."
The ministry explained that the contract with the developer of the electoral platform "RIX Technologies," which had been granted the right to perform programming work under a procurement through an electronic catalog, was terminated due to non-fulfillment of obligations.
At that time, "RIX Technologies" stated to LETA that they received a letter from the SADR about the termination of the contract and intended to review the arguments presented and provide comments. It was later reported that the company might contest the state's actions in court.
It was also reported that the State Police, 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, detained 21 individuals, including public officials.
In this case, as a preventive measure, arrests were made of the suspended public procurement specialist Ainars Biders, former director of the SADR Jorens Liopes, and the owner and head of the "Corporate Solutions" group of companies Aigars Ceruss, who was later released from custody.
The criminal process was initiated at the end of last year and classified under the articles of the Criminal Law concerning large-scale fraud as part of an organized group and the legalization of criminally obtained funds in large amounts as part of 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 are suspicions that the contracts were illegally secured with the help of public officials, and the illegally obtained profits were distributed among the participants.
The press release from the European Public Prosecutor's Office noted that the implementation of some projects could pose potential risks to national security, as it could affect elections and democratic procedures. Similar concerns regarding threats to democratic processes were also expressed by several politicians, including the President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkevics.
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