President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs has called on the responsible authorities not to delay and to decide already now that votes in the upcoming 15th Saeima elections this autumn should be counted manually, rather than relying on information technology (IT) systems that could fail.
As presidential adviser Mārtiņš Drēģeris told the LETA news agency, Rinkēvičs has reviewed the information provided by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) regarding possible violations in IT procurement procedures and their potential impact on the 2026 parliamentary election process.
The President stressed that in a democratic state, public authority is legitimate only if it derives from the will of the people, freely expressed in elections. He emphasized that elections are free when voters are able to form their views independently, express their choices freely, and challenge violations of electoral procedures.
Rinkēvičs noted that the proper organization and management of the election process is an essential precondition for free elections and must leave no room for doubt regarding election security or the credibility of the results. He underlined that a free, protected and transparent electoral process is a cornerstone of a democratic state.
In the President’s view, the information released by EPPO last week about possible irregularities in IT-related public procurement in state administration raises questions about the security of the election process and vote counting in the 2026 Saeima elections.
“Latvian society must receive an unequivocal assurance that the 2026 Saeima elections will be conducted fairly,
transparently and securely, eliminating any doubts about the possible impact of shortcomings in IT solutions on the election results,” Rinkēvičs said.
He called on the responsible institutions not to delay and to take a decision already now that the counting of votes in the 2026 Saeima elections should be carried out manually — that is, election commission members should count voters’ ballots by hand rather than relying on possible errors in IT systems.
The President is expected to provide broader comment on the situation to the media today at 2:30 p.m. at Riga Castle.
He added that he will propose discussing the conduct of the elections, as well as possible threats and external influence, at the April meeting of the National Security Council.
As previously reported, law enforcement authorities last week disclosed information about suspected fraud in state IT procurement contracts worth 1.5 million euros. A total of 21 people, including public officials, were detained in the case.
According to information obtained during the investigation, an organized group of individuals allegedly entered into an illegal secret agreement to predetermine the winners of public procurement tenders in at least six projects financed by the European Regional Development Fund, with a total value of up to 1.5 million euros. There are suspicions that the contracts were unlawfully secured with the assistance of public officials, while the illicit profits were divided among those involved.
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