SPAK launches investigation into cost of election technology for 2021 and 2023

SPAK launches investigation into cost of election technology for 2021 and 2023

The Special Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) has initiated an investigation into the expenses related to the procurement of technological equipment used for the biometric identification and electronic voting in the 2021 parliamentary and 2023 local elections. The Central Election Commission (CEC) spent a total of 60 million euros on these technologies for both election cycles.

Context

On Tuesday, SPAK prosecutors officially requested that the Central Election Commission provide documents related to the tenders for the purchase of biometric identification and electronic voting and counting equipment for the 2021 and 2023 elections. This request is part of an ongoing investigation into the costs associated with these technologies.

For the first time in Albania, biometric identification was introduced in the 2021 elections through devices known as PEI (Personal Electronic Identification). Additionally, a pilot project for electronic voting and counting was implemented. This shift to technology was the result of a political agreement between the two major parties, the Socialist Party and the Democratic Party, which decided that voter identification would no longer be conducted manually but through technology.

Under this agreement, it was also determined that a Deputy CEC Commissioner, appointed by the Democratic Party, would be responsible for overseeing the implementation of this technology, including the procurement of the necessary equipment. This deputy commissioner was given a four-year mandate.

The cost of the 2021 elections was estimated at 35 million euros, with 20 million euros allocated for electronic identification devices and an additional 10 million euros for the electronic voting pilot project. Initially, the CEC had budgeted 17 million euros for electronic identification. During the open tender process, several bids were submitted, but they were either disqualified or withdrawn, leaving only one company with a final offer of 20 million euros.


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