USAID purchased scanners for elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina from a company under US judicial investigation

(Patria) - Sidney Powell, former attorney for the US President and former federal prosecutor, shared a post on her X (formerly Twitter) account stating that USAID, which is often criticized by the Donald Trump administration, financed the introduction of new digital technologies into the electoral process in Bosnia and Herzegovina using equipment from the company Smartmatic, writes Večernji list.

Namely, Powell shared a USAID post from last year, which states that the contract for introducing new technologies into the Bosnian and Herzegovinian elections in 2024 was awarded precisely to the company Smartmatic.

This company became globally known after Trump's supporters accused its technology of manipulating the results of the 2020 US presidential elections. In addition, Powell forwarded a post reminding of corruption allegations related to Smartmatic, specifically the case in the Philippines, where government officials allegedly received bribes to select Smartmatic devices for the electoral process. The company Smartmatic is present in as many as 28 countries worldwide, including the US, where it has been at the center of political and legal controversies for years. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Smartmatic technology has been presented as a key tool for increasing security and reducing the possibility of electoral fraud, according to Večernji list.

In August 2024, USAID announced that it had invested $500,000 to pilot new voting technologies during the local elections in BiH, with the goal of full implementation by the general elections in 2026. Now, this project is completely questionable, especially due to the controversies arising from USAID's influence, i.e., damaged trust, both within the US and around the world. This project is being implemented through USAID's Election Integrity Support (USAID SEI) program, which was launched in 2023 with the aim of adapting BiH's electoral system to international standards. Optical scanners, which were tested at 145 polling stations, are intended, according to explanations, to enable faster and more accurate transmission of election results. However, an increasing number of USAID critics question the transparency of the procurement of Smartmatic equipment, raising questions about possible abuses, corruption, and manipulations. Recently, USAID has been under immense pressure from the American public due to a series of non-transparent projects and the spending of American taxpayers' money.

The main critic has become billionaire Elon Musk, who has repeatedly publicly called out USAID for irregularities in awarding funds abroad. Musk, using X (formerly Twitter) as a platform for public statements, claimed that USAID is not actually an organization dedicated to humanitarian work and development, but rather a tool of US foreign policy and political engineering. His accusations have been further amplified by reports published by American-Croatian Max Primorac, an expert in international relations and former USAID advisor, who has repeatedly openly criticized the way the agency awards funds and implements projects. Even during the Donald Trump administration, Primorac pointed to the lack of transparency, irresponsibility, and political instrumentalization of USAID projects, claiming that this organization too often finances dubious organizations and political initiatives that serve certain interest groups, rather than the real development of democracy and societies in transition.

The latest information about corruption scandals related to Smartmatic has further increased skepticism about its role in BiH. Namely, the US Department of Justice recently filed charges against three high-ranking Smartmatic officials for participating in a corruption scandal in the Philippines, where officials were paid millions of dollars in bribes to secure lucrative contracts for the procurement of electoral devices. The indictment claims that Smartmatic used slush funds and fake loan agreements to conceal illegal payments, with even one million dollars used to purchase real estate in San Francisco for family members of the former head of the Philippine Election Commission. Despite this, Smartmatic denies any wrongdoing and claims that two accused employees have been suspended pending the conclusion of legal proceedings. Criticisms of USAID are not limited to Smartmatic, writes Večernji list.

Patrick Colbeck, a former member of the Michigan House of Representatives, has openly questioned where $1.5 million allocated by USAID for a "DEI program" in Serbia went. According to some reports, this money could have ended up with the company Roaming Networks, which is close to Huawei Technologies, meaning that American money indirectly financed Chinese technological interests - despite the ban on using Huawei equipment in US government networks. This information has further eroded trust in USAID, and Elon Musk and Max Primorac continue to call for an audit of all financial transactions and projects financed by the agency abroad. As criticism of USAID escalates, the question remains how this affair will unfold and whether there will be a more serious investigation into the projects that USAID is implementing around the world.

In the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, it remains to be seen whether the pilot project with Smartmatic devices will continue, or if it will be withdrawn under public pressure and criticism. Given the history of controversies surrounding Smartmatic technology, it is clear that trust in the electoral process in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be seriously tested, and USAID will have to face uncomfortable questions about transparency and accountability. Of course, if its employees who were sent on unplanned leave ever return to work around the world, concludes Večernji list.