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On 30.03.2021, the website Bivol sent questions to Information Services regarding the possibility of machine voting in the parliamentary elections. The company's management substantiated its position on the introduction of machine voting on several occasions. Apart from the fact that machine voting during a pandemic poses a health risk to voters, we consider it important to recall that no such practice exists in Europe to date (except partially in Belgium) and it is considered insufficiently reliable. On the other hand, we believe that the introduction of machine voting, in parallel with paper ballots, is a prerequisite for increasing the risk of technical errors in the completion of the polling station protocols and may lead to delays in the deadlines set in the Electoral Code.
We publish the questions of Bivol without editorial intervention and the answers of Information Services.
How did Siela Norma JSC start its cooperation with Smartmatic with the approval of Information Services? Were political protections used to connect with the Venezuelan-American company?
Information Services is a joint stock commercial company and as such has nothing to do with the contractual relations between other private entities, including those cited in your question. The company cannot comment on commercial relationships external to itself.
Why, according to Information Services, is it normal that the prices of Smartmatic's second-hand machines for a total of BGN 42 million including VAT exceed the potential costs of producing the new machines by Bulgarian Voting Machines Ltd? Which country is the manufacturer of the machines, in which countries have they already been used in the election process?
Information Services is not a party to the contract for the supply of the voting machines and cannot comment on the procurement procedure and the contracting authority's decisions.
In 2020, our company carried out a market survey for voting machines among the world's largest manufacturers that could cope with the volume and timing. As evident from this analysis, the cost for a machine ranges from $1,750 to $3,000, and this cost includes the machine itself, excluding shipping, development of specialized voting software, and provision of parameterization and logistics during the election process. Inquiries were sent to 6 companies, and two companies responded. The results of this survey were made public by the Chairman of the Board, Mikhail Konstantinov, in 2020.
As concerns the second part of your question, it should be addressed to the supplier of the machines.
Did the use of machines delivered by only one supplier, i.e. "Smartmatic", and two companies participating in the tender on the Bulgarian side (Ciela Norma JSC and Lex.bg) allowed to deliver part of the machines before the tender procedure itself? Why were the same demo machines used for the presentation by two different legal entities - Ciela Norma JSC and Lex.bg? What is the comment of Information Services and its representatives at the Central Election Commission as experts in information technologies?
We have no information about the delivery of the machines, or about the reasons why one and the same machines were presented for demonstration purposes. Information Services cannot comment on the actions of the committee appointed by another Contracting authority - in this case the Central Election Commission - to examine the applications and bids for participation in the competitive procedure with negotiations opened by Decision No 1911-NS dated 12.11.2020 (public procurement with identification number 04312-2020-0001 in the Register of public procurements).
One employee of Information Services participated in the work of the committee as an external expert. He is one of the five external experts included in the composition of the Committee of 11 (eleven) members appointed by the Contracting authority. He participated in the work of the committee in accordance with a written contract concluded between him and the Central Election Commission on the basis of article 51, paragraph 3 of the Implementing regulation of the Public Procurement Act, in compliance with all requirements of the Public Procurement Act and the Implementing regulation of the Public Procurement Act.
What is the position of Information Services regarding the media publications about the presence of irregularities in Smartmatic's participation in Venezuela, the USA and the Philippines? Why was a company from outside the European Union chosen as a partner without meeting EU safety and reputation requirements?
There have been numerous media reports in the public domain relating to electoral technology and, in particular, machine voting around the world. Judging by these publications, it seems that there is virtually no election technology provider against which there has not been suspicion and objections from various parties over time.
We would like to remind you that the management of Information Services has repeatedly stated its reservations about the introduction of machine voting in the country. It is no coincidence that machine voting is not applied in Europe, with the exception of some municipalities in Belgium, which corresponds to less than 1% of the European population. In Germany, such voting has been banned by a decision of the Constitutional Court.
Does Information Service have any financial or business relations with legal entities or individuals politically linked to the political formations NDSV, DPS, GERB, SDS?
Information Services is a national system integrator and as such works mainly with state administration institutions. As a Qualified Certification Service Provider, the company has concluded contracts for certification services (electronic signature) with tens of thousands of individuals and legal entities, including traders, non-profit legal entities, etc. We have no reason to collect and do not collect information regarding the political involvement of our customers and contractors and therefore cannot provide information on that question.
What are the joint projects of Ciela Norma JSC with Information Services, are Smartmatic's machines certified by all state institutions? Isn't it a conflict of interest for the experts of Information Services to approve the machines delivered to the Central Election Commission and the Council of Ministers by the supplier company, which is a business partner?
Information Services has no joint projects with Ciela Norma JSC. The company has a commercial relationship with Ciela Norma JSC under contracts for the use of and access to Ciela legal information systems for the needs of Information Services and our clients. Ciela Norma JSC has also purchased smartcards and electronic signatures from Information Services.
Information Services (as a contracting authority under the Public Procurement Act) has concluded a contract with Ciela Norma JSC, following a public procurement, for the implementation of activities related to the system integration of the National Revenue Agency.
We do not consider that a conflict of interest has arisen with the participation of an employee of Information Services as an external expert in the 11-member committee appointed by the Central Election Commission as the Contracting authority, for the examination and evaluation of the tenders submitted in the competitive procedure with negotiations, opened by Decision No. 1911-NS/12.11.2020.
On the issue of certification of the machines by all state institutions, you should refer to the state institutions in charge of this activity by virtue of the Electoral Code, namely the Electronic Governance State Agency, the Bulgarian Institute for Standardization and the Bulgarian Institute of Metrology.