Commission finishes its work, awaiting CIK: Will consortium linked to HDZ and SNSD get the election technology supply contract?

(Patria) - The commission determining the best bids for the election technology supply contract for the upcoming elections in BiH has finished its work - it has determined that three companies meet the requirements.

In first place, thanks to dumping prices, is a consortium of IT companies linked to HDZ and SNSD, and a Korean company that organized elections in Russia.

The Central Election Commission (CIK) of BiH can choose anyone from the list, but the role of the Appeals Review Office is unavoidable. The results of the Commission's work will be sent to the CIK tomorrow, writes Istraga.ba.

The consortium consisting of Planet Soft from Banja Luka, Katarina d.o.o. from Mostar, Core d.o.o. from Sarajevo, and the South Korean company Miru Systems has, at first glance, submitted the most favorable bid for this contract.

Compared to the next bidder (American Smartmatic), the offer is as much as 17 million marks cheaper.

Furthermore, the delivery deadline offered by the consortium of companies close to Milorad Dodik and Dragan Čović is the best offer in terms of equipment delivery timelines.

American Smartmatic, which is second on the list, is asking for 74.5 million marks (plus VAT). The equipment delivery deadline is 139 days from the date of contract signing, and the extended warranty is five years.

Therefore, in two segments, this offer is formally "worse" than the offer from the consortium consisting of companies close to SNSD and HDZ.

The third offer was submitted by the company Artco Group. It is asking for 79.7 million marks plus VAT for this contract, and its delivery deadline is 170 days from the date of contract signing.

Given the offers, it will be difficult for the tender commission of the CIK BiH to "overlook" the bid from the Consortium backed by Dodik, Čović, and the company that organized elections in Russia.

Even if this happens, through the Appeals Review Office, where these parties have their people, the procedure could be slowed down or halted until this Consortium gets the contract.

Who are the companies that make up this Consortium and who are they linked to?

Katarina d.o.o. Mostar is an IT company owned by Milenko Čović, a distant relative of the President of HDZ BiH, Dragan Čović. Katarina has received the majority of its contracts from state institutions and public companies managed by HDZ BiH cadres.

"Čović's company again received a multi-million tender for prisoner wristbands," read the headline of the portal Fokus published on July 1, 2024.

You can find similar headlines by searching for the company Katarina and the name Milenko Čović. Thus, this company has received contracts from the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers of BiH, managed by HDZ BiH cadre Robert Vidović, and then from BHANSA after its management was taken over by Dragan Čović's son-in-law, Davorin Primorac.

Furthermore, the son-in-law of Katarina's owner, Milenko Čović, Marko Laco, was a representative of Abraham Group, backed by Amir Gros Kabiri.

Planet Soft is a company owned by Serbian businessman Vedran Jarić. The company is headquartered in Banja Luka and Belgrade.

According to Capital's reporting, Planet Soft received a multi-million contract from Željeznice Republike Srpske at the end of last year, which is managed by the authorities under Milorad Dodik's control.

"The companies 'Planet soft' from Banja Luka and Belgrade have been awarded a three-year contract for the maintenance of the SAP information system at Željeznice Republike Srpske, worth 2.3 million KM with VAT.

Specifically, the companies 'Planet soft' with addresses in Banja Luka and New Belgrade will maintain this system for the next three years, and the annual value of the contract is around 800,000 marks with calculated VAT.

As stated in the contract award notice, only one bid was received for the tender, and it was acceptable to Željeznice.

It is important to note that this is the first such contract that 'Planet soft' will undertake for a public enterprise in RS since they obtained the SAP license," reported Capital.

The South Korean company Miru Systems, as part of this consortium, has had numerous scandals and controversies related to election technologies and several countries.

Here are specific examples.

This South Korean company supplied election technologies to the Democratic Republic of Congo for the 2018 and 2023 elections. The devices, according to local media reports, had numerous technical problems, leading to chaos during voting.

International observers described the situation as "catastrophic." US authorities even sanctioned the leaders of the election commission in Congo due to suspicions of corruption related to contracts with the South Korean company Miru.

This company also organized elections in Iraq, where about 70% of the devices failed in the 2018 elections.

In addition to Iraq, Congo, and the Philippines, the South Korean company Miru also supplied hardware for the 2018 elections in the Russian Federation.

It is precisely this company, which had contracts with the Russians, along with companies linked to SNSD and HDZ, that has the greatest chance of winning the contract for the supply of election technologies in BiH.