IPP is calling for state authorities to investigate procurement of the 1 million euro software

Bucharest, May 14, 2009 ■ The Institute for Public Policy (IPP) is seizing the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate potential abuse against public interest of employees of the Permanent Electoral Authority (PEA), who managed to initiate the procurement procedure for purchasing a software package for centralizing election results, a package that they were already using since 2007, yet are now willing to pay 4 times the price for the same item. At the same time, IPP is requesting Prime-Minister Emil Boc to dismiss the Vicepresident of the Authority – Marian Muhulet, whom is responsible for the procurement of the software, in order to show that the Government cares for public money. In the context of the current crisis, it is mandatory to have an objective and responsible evaluation of the opportunity of procurements engaged by all public institutions, being widely known the fact that such procurements are a substantial source of revenues for many companies which are traditional state clients.

PEA has asked and managed to get more than 1 million euro from the State Budget for purchasing this software package, while the software that has been used for processing electoral results for former European elections in 2007 could be used good and proper with minimum adjustments: the only aspect that has changed since 2007 is that now the allocation of MEP mandates should be done for 33 positions, instead of 35, as in 2007. Still, this does not imply any change to the software used by the Constituency Electoral Bureaus, but a minor correction to the software used by the Central Electoral Bureau, where the figure 5 should be replaced by 3 when it comes to the number of mandates to be allocated. Such simple operation should not take longer than 10 minutes.

Moreover, even if the software were created again, the company which would do that would benefit, according to the procurement documentation, from the sources (programming codes) of the software created in 2007. Otherwise said, the company would legally have the possibility of copy – pasting it, for 1 million euro.

IPP has consulted with experts whom have reassured that such procurement is useless, as the software used in 2007 is perfectly functional with minimum changes which price should not exceed 10,000 euro. Otherwise, IPP has officially asked the Vicepresident of PEA to provide explanations regarding the necessity to but new software, but the Authority inexplicably delays answering.

In such conditions and having as complementary arguments other numerous deficiencies identified during previous elections, IPP asks decision makers to urgently initiate a thorough evaluation of performances of PEA, reorganizing it as to ensure the credibility of electoral processes in Romania, a credibility which is prone to collapse today.

For further details please contact Adrian Moraru, Deputy Director, phone 40 21 212 3126, mobile 0724 237 229 and e-mail: adrian@ipp.ro