Prime Minister Evika Siliņa expressed hope that despite the problems with the development of information technology (IT) for the elections, voters will not feel significant changes in the process of the parliamentary elections this autumn, writes LETA.
In an interview with the "Morning Panorama" program on LTV, the politician stated that three possible scenarios were considered in case of problems — to continue working with the current developer of the election IT systems, to look for a new one, or to transfer the process to manual mode as much as possible.
During the assessment of the situation, it was determined that there had been no external interference in the election IT systems, so they can continue to be used; however, to reduce reputational risks, it was decided to change developers. According to the politician, the state has the source codes of these systems, and the companies selected to work have confirmed their readiness to bring them into working condition.
Siliņa hopes that voters will not feel significant changes, and it will be possible to vote both with a passport and with an eID card, as well as to vote at any polling station.
The politician from the "New Unity" party particularly noted that problems in overseeing these systems have been developing for many years, and the Ministry of Smart Governance and Regional Development (MSGRD) was previously headed by representatives of other parties, such as Kaspars Gerhards (National Alliance) and Arturs Tom Plešs ("For Development/For!"), hinting at their responsibility for the system's shortcomings. For almost the last three years, this ministry has been headed by politicians from "New Unity", while Inga Berzina resigned from the ministerial position precisely due to problems with ensuring the electoral IT systems.
As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers decided at a crisis management meeting on Tuesday to transfer the development of electoral systems to companies that are wholly or partially state-owned — Latvijas mobilais telefons (LMT), Tet, and Latvijas valsts meži (LVM).
MSGRD terminated the contract with the developer of the electoral platform RIX Technologies and proposed to transfer the development to LMT, Tet, and LVM. As emphasized by the ministry, these companies were chosen because the state is involved in their management, and they have implemented significant IT infrastructure projects both in Latvia and abroad. The companies employ highly qualified specialists, including those with the necessary security certifications, which is critically important for the development of electoral systems.
It is planned that LMT will work on improving the information systems of the electoral platform. MSGRD explained that these improvements will facilitate the work of polling stations, including improving the counting of results and reducing the time for processing and publishing them. In turn, Tet will participate in the development of necessary modifications to the platform's modules and will ensure its audit. LVM will develop additions to the electronic online voter registration module and ensure its operation, allowing citizens to vote at any polling station.
Leave a comment